Intra-symbol multiplexing with a single carrier waveform

ABSTRACT

Aspects relate to implementing multiplexing with a single carrier waveform. In some examples, intra-symbol multiplexing of data and other information on a single carrier symbol may be implemented utilizing pre-discrete Fourier transform (DFT) multiplexing. In addition, time domain rate-matching may be performed on the data to rate-match the data around the other information based on a number of usable samples in the time domain within the symbol for the data.

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority to and the benefit of ProvisionalPatent Application No. 62/876,448, entitled “Multiplexing with a SingleCarrier Waveform,” filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Jul.19, 2019, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein byreference as if fully set forth below in their entirety and for allapplicable purposes. This application is further related to concurrentlyfiled, co-pending U.S. Non-provisional application Ser. No. 16/xxx,xxx,filed on the same day as this application, which is incorporated hereinby reference as if fully set forth below.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technology discussed below relates generally to wirelesscommunication networks, and more particularly, to multiplexingcommunication between a base station and a plurality of user equipment(UEs) utilizing single carrier waveforms.

INTRODUCTION

Communication between a base station and multiple user equipment (UEs)may be multiplexed in time and/or frequency utilizing variousmultiplexing schemes. Examples of multiplexing schemes include, but arenot limited to, time division multiplexing (TDM), code divisionmultiplexing (CDM), frequency division multiplexing (FDM), orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM), sparse code multiplexing (SCM),resource spread multiplexing (RSM), single-carrier frequency divisionmultiplexing (SC-FDM) (e.g., discrete Fourier transform spreadorthogonal frequency division multiple access (DFT-s-OFDMA)), or othersuitable multiplexing schemes.

In fifth generation (5G) wireless communication networks, such as theNew Radio (NR) wireless communication network, OFDM with a cyclic prefix(CP) may be utilized on both the downlink and uplink. In addition, NRfurther supports SC-FDM (e.g., DFT-s-OFDM) for uplink communications.SC-FDM is further being considered for high band (e.g., above 52.6 GHz)communication on the uplink and downlink Efficient techniques for uplinkand downlink multiplexing on the high band may improve systemflexibility when employing the use of a single carrier waveform.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following presents a summary of one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects.This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated featuresof the disclosure and is intended neither to identify key or criticalelements of all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope ofany or all aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in a form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In one example, a method for wireless communication at a user equipment(UE) in a wireless communication network is disclosed. The methodincludes communicating with a base station utilizing a single carrierwaveform transmitted on a carrier. The carrier can be time-divided intoa plurality of single carrier symbols, and each of the single carriersymbols can include a plurality of samples in a time domain. The methodfurther includes receiving a time domain rate-matching indication fromthe base station indicating useable samples of the plurality of samplesfor data within of a symbol of the plurality of single carrier symbols.The method further includes time domain rate-matching the data aroundother information contained in the symbol based on the time domainrate-matching indication to facilitate multiplexing of the data with theother information in the symbol.

Another example provides a user equipment (UE) in a wirelesscommunication network. The UE includes a wireless transceiver, a memory,and a processor communicatively coupled to the wireless transceiver andthe memory. The processor and the memory are configured to communicatewith a base station utilizing a single carrier waveform transmitted on acarrier via the wireless transceiver. The carrier can be time-dividedinto a plurality of single carrier symbols, and each of the singlecarrier symbols can include a plurality of samples in a time domain. Theprocessor and the memory are further configured to receive a time domainrate-matching indication via the wireless transceiver from the basestation indicating useable samples of the plurality of samples for datawithin of a symbol of the plurality of single carrier symbols. Theprocessor and the memory are further configured to time domainrate-match the data around other information contained in the symbolbased on the time domain rate-matching indication to facilitatemultiplexing of the data with the other information in the symbol.

Another example provides a method for wireless communication at a basestation in a wireless communication network. The method includescommunicating with a user equipment (UE) utilizing a single carrierwaveform transmitted on a carrier. The carrier can be time-divided intoa plurality of single carrier symbols, and each of the single carriersymbols can include a plurality of samples in a time domain. The methodfurther includes transmitting a time domain rate-matching indication tothe UE indicating useable samples of the plurality of samples for datawithin of a symbol of the plurality of single carrier symbols. Themethod further includes time domain rate-matching the data around otherinformation contained in the symbol based on the time domainrate-matching indication to facilitate multiplexing of the data with theother information in the symbol.

Another example provides a base station in a wireless communicationnetwork.

The base station includes a wireless transceiver, a memory, and aprocessor communicatively coupled to the wireless transceiver and thememory. The processor and the memory are configured to communicate witha user equipment (UE) utilizing a single carrier waveform transmitted ona carrier via the wireless transceiver. The carrier can be time-dividedinto a plurality of single carrier symbols, and each of the singlecarrier symbols can include a plurality of samples in a time domain. Theprocessor and the memory are further configured to transmit a timedomain rate-matching indication via the wireless transceiver to the UEindicating useable samples of the plurality of samples for data withinof a symbol of the plurality of single carrier symbols. The processorand the memory are further configured to time domain rate-match the dataaround other information contained in the symbol based on the timedomain rate-matching indication to facilitate multiplexing of the datawith the other information in the symbol.

These and other aspects will become more fully understood upon a reviewof the detailed description, which follows. Other aspects, features, andembodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art,upon reviewing the following description of specific, exemplaryembodiments of in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures may be discussed relative to certain embodiments and figuresbelow, all embodiments can include one or more of the advantageousfeatures discussed herein. In other words, while one or more embodimentsmay be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more ofsuch features may also be used in accordance with the variousembodiments discussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplaryembodiments may be discussed below as device, system, or methodembodiments such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a wireless communication systemaccording to some aspects.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual illustration of an example of a radio accessnetwork according to some aspects.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure for usein a radio access network according to some aspects.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a comparison of orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and single-carrier frequencydivision multiplexing (SC-FDM) as may be implemented within a radioaccess network according to some aspects.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an SC-FDM system as may be implementedbetween a transmitter and a receiver within a radio access networkaccording to some aspects.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of multiplexing using an interleavedfrequency division multiplexing (I-FDM) scheme implemented within alocalized FDM (L-FDM) system according to some aspects.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of multiplexing using an I-FDM schemeimplemented within an L-FDM system according to some aspects.

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a portion of a transmitterconfigured to implement pre-DFT multiplexing in a SC-FDM systemaccording to some aspects.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a portion of a receiver configuredto implement post-DFT de-multiplexing in a SC-FDM system according tosome aspects.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an SC-FDM symbol including time domainmultiplexed data and other information according to some aspects.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example of an SC-FDM symbol including timedomain multiplexed data and other information according to some aspects.

FIG. 12 illustrates another example of an SC-FDM symbol including timedomain multiplexed data and other information according to some aspects.

FIG. 13 illustrates another example of an SC-FDM symbol including timedomain multiplexed data and other information according to some aspects.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a base station employing a processing systemaccording to some aspects.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a UE employing a processing system according to someaspects.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for a base station toimplement multiplexing with single carrier waveforms according to someaspects.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart of another exemplary method for a base stationto implement multiplexing with single carrier waveforms according tosome aspects.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart of another exemplary method for a base stationto implement multiplexing with single carrier waveforms according tosome aspects.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart of another exemplary method for a base stationto implement multiplexing with single carrier waveforms according tosome aspects.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart of an exemplary method for a UE to implementmultiplexing with a single carrier waveform according to some aspects.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart of another exemplary method for a UE toimplement multiplexing with a single carrier waveform according to someaspects.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart of a method for a base station to implementmultiplexing with a single carrier waveform according to some aspects.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

While aspects and embodiments are described in this application byillustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understandthat additional implementations and use cases may come about in manydifferent arrangements and scenarios. Innovations described herein maybe implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems,shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, embodimentsand/or uses may come about via integrated chip embodiments and othernon-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles,communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment,retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, AI-enabled devices, etc.).While some examples may or may not be specifically directed to use casesor applications, a wide assortment of applicability of describedinnovations may occur. Implementations may range a spectrum fromchip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-levelimplementations and further to aggregate, distributed, or OEM devices orsystems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations.In some practical settings, devices incorporating described aspects andfeatures may also necessarily include additional components and featuresfor implementation and practice of claimed and described embodiments.For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarilyincludes a number of components for analog and digital purposes (e.g.,hardware components including antenna, RF-chains, power amplifiers,modulators, buffer, processor(s), interleaver, adders/summers, etc.). Itis intended that innovations described herein may be practiced in a widevariety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributedarrangements, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes andconstitution.

Various aspects of the disclosure relate to implementing multiplexingwith a single carrier waveform. In some examples, a total bandwidth(e.g., a high band above 52.6 GHz) may be divided into a plurality ofbandwidth parts (BWPs), each including a plurality of tones (e.g.,subcarriers or frequencies). Each of the BWPs may further be dividedinto two or more interlaces, where each interlace includes a respectivenumber of interleaved tones. A base station may assign each of aplurality of UEs a respective set of one or more interlaces within atleast one BWP for multiplexing communication with the base station. Insome examples, the respective sets of one or more interlaces may beutilized by the base station for downlink communication via respectivesingle carrier waveforms with the plurality of UEs. In other examples,the respective sets of one or more interlaces may be utilized by the UEsfor uplink communication via respective single carrier waveforms withthe base station. In some examples, the spacing between the interleavedtones of each of the interlaces assigned to a UE is equal. In otherexamples, the spacing between the interleaved tones of each of theinterlaces assigned to a UE varies between the interlaces.

In some examples, intra-symbol multiplexing of data and otherinformation on a single carrier symbol may be implemented utilizingpre-discrete Fourier transform (DFT) multiplexing. To multiplex the datawith other information, time domain rate-matching may be performed onthe data to rate-match the data around the other information based on anumber of usable samples in the time domain within the single carriersymbol for the data. Here, the samples may correspond to complexmodulated symbols within a symbol stream mapped to the single carriersymbol. The number of usable samples may be determined based on thetotal number of samples that may be transmitted in the single carriersymbol and the number of samples allocated to the other information. Forexample, the other information may include control information and/orsignals that may be transmitted between the base station and the UE. Inaddition, the other information may include one or more switching gapsbetween the data and the other information or between different types ofother information.

The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may beimplemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures, and communication standards. Referring now to FIG. 1, asan illustrative example without limitation, various aspects of thepresent disclosure are illustrated with reference to a wirelesscommunication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 includesthree interacting domains: a core network 102, a radio access network(RAN) 104, and a user equipment (UE) 106. By virtue of the wirelesscommunication system 100, the UE 106 may be enabled to carry out datacommunication with an external data network 110, such as (but notlimited to) the Internet.

The RAN 104 may implement any suitable wireless communication technologyor technologies to provide radio access to the UE 106. As one example,the RAN 104 may operate according to 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) New Radio (NR) specifications, often referred to as 5G. Asanother example, the RAN 104 may operate under a hybrid of 5G NR andEvolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) standards,often referred to as LTE. The 3GPP refers to this hybrid RAN as anext-generation RAN, or NG-RAN. Of course, many other examples may beutilized within the scope of the present disclosure.

As illustrated, the RAN 104 includes a plurality of base stations 108.Broadly, a base station is a network element in a radio access networkresponsible for radio transmission and reception in one or more cells toor from a UE. In different technologies, standards, or contexts, a basestation may variously be referred to by those skilled in the art as abase transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radiotransceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), anextended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), a Node B (NB), aneNode B (eNB), a gNode B (gNB), or some other suitable terminology.

The radio access network 104 is further illustrated supporting wirelesscommunication for multiple mobile apparatuses. A mobile apparatus may bereferred to as user equipment (UE) in 3GPP standards, but may also bereferred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), asubscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, aremote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wirelesscommunications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, anaccess terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remoteterminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, aclient, or some other suitable terminology. A UE may be an apparatusthat provides a user with access to network services.

Within the present document, a “mobile” apparatus need not necessarilyhave a capability to move, and may be stationary. The term mobileapparatus or mobile device broadly refers to a diverse array of devicesand technologies. UEs may include a number of hardware structuralcomponents sized, shaped, and arranged to help in communication; suchcomponents can include antennas, antenna arrays, RF chains, amplifiers,one or more processors, etc. electrically coupled to each other. Forexample, some non-limiting examples of a mobile apparatus include amobile, a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, a session initiationprotocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal computer (PC), a notebook, anetbook, a smartbook, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), anda broad array of embedded systems, e.g., corresponding to an “Internetof Things” (IoT). A mobile apparatus may additionally be an automotiveor other transportation vehicle, a remote sensor or actuator, a robot orrobotics device, a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS)device, an object tracking device, a drone, a multi-copter, aquad-copter, a remote control device, a consumer and/or wearable device,such as eyewear, a wearable camera, a virtual reality device, a smartwatch, a health or fitness tracker, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3player), a camera, a game console, etc. A mobile apparatus mayadditionally be a digital home or smart home device such as a homeaudio, video, and/or multimedia device, an appliance, a vending machine,intelligent lighting, a home security system, a smart meter, etc. Amobile apparatus may additionally be a smart energy device, a securitydevice, a solar panel or solar array, a municipal infrastructure devicecontrolling electric power (e.g., a smart grid), lighting, water, etc.,an industrial automation and enterprise device, a logistics controller,agricultural equipment, etc. Still further, a mobile apparatus mayprovide for connected medicine or telemedicine support, i.e., healthcare at a distance. Telehealth devices may include telehealth monitoringdevices and telehealth administration devices, whose communication maybe given preferential treatment or prioritized access over other typesof information, e.g., in terms of prioritized access for transport ofcritical service data, and/or relevant QoS for transport of criticalservice data.

Wireless communication between a RAN 104 and a UE 106 may be describedas utilizing an air interface. Transmissions over the air interface froma base station (e.g., base station 108) to one or more UEs (e.g., UE106) may be referred to as downlink (DL) transmission. In accordancewith certain aspects of the present disclosure, the term downlink mayrefer to a point-to-multipoint transmission originating at a schedulingentity (described further below; e.g., base station 108). Another way todescribe this scheme may be to use the term broadcast channelmultiplexing. Transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE 106) to a base station(e.g., base station 108) may be referred to as uplink (UL)transmissions. In accordance with further aspects of the presentdisclosure, the term uplink may refer to a point-to-point transmissionoriginating at a scheduled entity (described further below; e.g., UE106).

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, whereina scheduling entity (e.g., a base station 108) allocates resources forcommunication among some or all devices and equipment within its servicearea or cell. Within the present disclosure, as discussed further below,the scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning,reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduledentities. That is, for scheduled communication, UEs 106, which may bescheduled entities, may utilize resources allocated by the schedulingentity 108.

Base stations 108 are not the only entities that may function asscheduling entities. That is, in some examples, a UE may function as ascheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduledentities (e.g., one or more other UEs). And as discussed more below, UEsmay communicate directly with other UEs in peer-to-peer fashion and/orin relay configuration.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a scheduling entity 108 may broadcast downlinktraffic 112 to one or more scheduled entities 106. Broadly, thescheduling entity 108 is a node or device responsible for schedulingtraffic in a wireless communication network, including the downlinktraffic 112 and, in some examples, uplink traffic 116 from one or morescheduled entities 106 to the scheduling entity 108. On the other hand,the scheduled entity 106 is a node or device that receives downlinkcontrol information 114, including but not limited to schedulinginformation (e.g., a grant), synchronization or timing information, orother control information from another entity in the wirelesscommunication network such as the scheduling entity 108.

In addition, the uplink and/or downlink control information and/ortraffic information may be time-divided into frames, subframes, slots,and/or symbols. As used herein, a symbol may refer to a unit of timethat, in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) waveform,carries one resource element (RE) per sub-carrier. A slot may carry 7 or14 OFDM symbols. A subframe may refer to a duration of 1 ms. Multiplesubframes or slots may be grouped together to form a single frame orradio frame. Of course, these definitions are not required, and anysuitable scheme for organizing waveforms may be utilized, and varioustime divisions of the waveform may have any suitable duration.

In general, base stations 108 may include a backhaul interface forcommunication with a backhaul portion 120 of the wireless communicationsystem. The backhaul 120 may provide a link between a base station 108and the core network 102. Further, in some examples, a backhaul networkmay provide interconnection between the respective base stations 108.Various types of backhaul interfaces may be employed, such as a directphysical connection, a virtual network, or the like using any suitabletransport network.

The core network 102 may be a part of the wireless communication system100, and may be independent of the radio access technology used in theRAN 104. In some examples, the core network 102 may be configuredaccording to 5G standards (e.g., 5GC). In other examples, the corenetwork 102 may be configured according to a 4G evolved packet core(EPC), or any other suitable standard or configuration.

Referring now to FIG. 2, by way of example and without limitation, aschematic illustration of a RAN 200 is provided. In some examples, theRAN 200 may be the same as the RAN 104 described above and illustratedin FIG. 1. The geographic area covered by the RAN 200 may be dividedinto cellular regions (cells) that can be uniquely identified by a userequipment (UE) based on an identification broadcasted from one accesspoint or base station. FIG. 2 illustrates macrocells 202, 204, and 206,and a small cell 208, each of which may include one or more sectors (notshown). A sector is a sub-area of a cell. All sectors within one cellare served by the same base station. A radio link within a sector can beidentified by a single logical identification belonging to that sector.In a cell that is divided into sectors, the multiple sectors within acell can be formed by groups of antennas with each antenna responsiblefor communication with UEs in a portion of the cell.

Various base station arrangements can be utilized. For example, in FIG.2, two base stations 210 and 212 are shown in cells 202 and 204; and athird base station 214 is shown controlling a remote radio head (RRH)216 in cell 206. That is, a base station can have an integrated antennaor can be connected to an antenna or RRH by feeder cables. In theillustrated example, the cells 202, 204, and 206 may be referred to asmacrocells, as the base stations 210, 212, and 214 support cells havinga large size. Further, a base station 218 is shown in the small cell 208(e.g., a microcell, picocell, femtocell, home base station, home Node B,home eNode B, etc.) which may overlap with one or more macrocells. Inthis example, the cell 208 may be referred to as a small cell, as thebase station 218 supports a cell having a relatively small size. Cellsizing can be done according to system design as well as componentconstraints.

It is to be understood that the radio access network 200 may include anynumber of wireless base stations and cells. Further, a relay node may bedeployed to extend the size or coverage area of a given cell. The basestations 210, 212, 214, 218 provide wireless access points to a corenetwork for any number of mobile apparatuses. In some examples, the basestations 210, 212, 214, and/or 218 may be the same as the basestation/scheduling entity 108 described above and illustrated in FIG. 1.

Within the RAN 200, the cells may include UEs that may be incommunication with one or more sectors of each cell. Further, each basestation 210, 212, 214, and 218 may be configured to provide an accesspoint to a core network 102 (see FIG. 1) for all the UEs in therespective cells. For example, UEs 222 and 224 may be in communicationwith base station 210; UEs 226 and 228 may be in communication with basestation 212; UEs 230 and 232 may be in communication with base station214 by way of RRH 216; and UE 234 may be in communication with basestation 218. In some examples, the UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232,234, 238, 240, and/or 242 may be the same as the UE/scheduled entity 106described above and illustrated in FIG. 1.

In some examples, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 220, which may be adrone or quadcopter, can be a mobile network node and may be configuredto function as a UE. For example, the UAV 220 may operate within cell202 by communicating with base station 210.

In a further aspect of the RAN 200, sidelink signals may be used betweenUEs without necessarily relying on scheduling or control informationfrom a base station. Sidelink communication may be utilized, forexample, in a device-to-device (D2D), peer-to-peer (P2P),vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network, and/or vehicle-to-everything (V2X).For example, two or more UEs (e.g., UEs 226 and 228) within the coveragearea of a serving base station 212 may communicate with each other usingsidelink signals 227 without relaying that communication through thebase station. In this example, the base station 212 or one or both ofthe UEs 226 and 228 may function as scheduling entities to schedulesidelink communication between UEs 226 and 228. In some examples, thesidelink signals 227 include sidelink traffic and sidelink control. In afurther example, UEs outside the coverage area of a base station maycommunicate over a sidelink carrier. For example, UE 238 is illustratedcommunicating with UEs 240 and 242. Here, the UE 238 may function as ascheduling entity or a transmitting sidelink device, and UEs 240 and 242may each function as a scheduled entity or a receiving sidelink device.

In the RAN 200, the ability for a UE to communicate while moving,independent of its location, is referred to as mobility. The variousphysical channels between the UE and the RAN are generally set up,maintained, and released under the control of an access and mobilitymanagement function (AMF, not illustrated, part of the core network 102in FIG. 1). In some scenarios, the AMF may include a security contextmanagement function (SCMF) and a security anchor function (SEAF). TheSCMF can manage, in whole or in part, the security context for both thecontrol plane and the user plane functionality. The SEAF can performauthentication.

In some examples, the RAN 200 may enable mobility and handovers (i.e.,the transfer of a UE's connection from one radio channel to another).For example, during a call with a scheduling entity, or at any othertime, a UE may monitor various parameters of the signal from its servingcell as well as various parameters of neighboring cells. Depending onthe quality of these parameters, the UE may maintain communication withone or more of the neighboring cells. During this time, if the UE movesfrom one cell to another, or if signal quality from a neighboring cellexceeds that from the serving cell for a given amount of time, the UEmay undertake a handoff or handover from the serving cell to theneighboring (target) cell. For example, UE 224 (illustrated as avehicle, although any suitable form of UE may be used) may move from thegeographic area corresponding to its serving cell 202 to the geographicarea corresponding to a neighbor cell 206. When the signal strength orquality from the neighbor cell 206 exceeds that of its serving cell 202for a given amount of time, the UE 224 may transmit a reporting messageto its serving base station 210 indicating this condition. In response,the UE 224 may receive a handover command, and the UE may undergo ahandover to the cell 206.

The air interface in the radio access network 200 may utilize one ormore multiplexing and multiple access algorithms to enable simultaneouscommunication of the various devices. For example, 5G NR specificationsprovide multiple access for UL transmissions from UEs 222 and 224 tobase station 210, and for multiplexing for DL transmissions from basestation 210 to one or more UEs 222 and 224, utilizing orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP). Inaddition, for UL transmissions, 5G NR specifications provide support fordiscrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) with a CP (alsoreferred to as single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA)). However, within the scopeof the present disclosure, multiplexing and multiple access are notlimited to the above schemes, and may be provided utilizing timedivision multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA),frequency division multiple access (FDMA), sparse code multiple access(SCMA), resource spread multiple access (RSMA), or other suitablemultiple access schemes. Further, multiplexing DL transmissions from thebase station 210 to UEs 222 and 224 may be provided utilizing timedivision multiplexing (TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), frequencydivision multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM), sparse code multiplexing (SCM), or other suitable multiplexingschemes.

The air interface in the radio access network 200 may further utilizeone or more duplexing algorithms. Duplex refers to a point-to-pointcommunication link where both endpoints can communicate with one anotherin both directions. Full duplex means both endpoints can simultaneouslycommunicate with one another. Half duplex means only one endpoint cansend information to the other at a time. In a wireless link, a fullduplex channel generally relies on physical isolation of a transmitterand receiver, and suitable interference cancellation technologies. Fullduplex emulation is frequently implemented for wireless links byutilizing frequency division duplex (FDD) or time division duplex (TDD).In FDD, transmissions in different directions operate at differentcarrier frequencies. In TDD, transmissions in different directions on agiven channel are separated from one another using time divisionmultiplexing. That is, at some times the channel is dedicated fortransmissions in one direction, while at other times the channel isdedicated for transmissions in the other direction, where the directionmay change very rapidly, e.g., several times per slot.

Various aspects of the present disclosure will be described withreference to an OFDM waveform, schematically illustrated in FIG. 3. Itshould be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that thevarious aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to an SC-FDMAwaveform in substantially the same way as described herein below. Thatis, while some examples of the present disclosure may focus on an OFDMlink for clarity, it should be understood that the same principles maybe applied as well to SC-FDMA waveforms.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an expanded view of an exemplary DL subframe302 is illustrated, showing an OFDM resource grid. However, as thoseskilled in the art will readily appreciate, the PHY transmissionstructure for any particular application may vary from the exampledescribed here, depending on any number of factors. Here, time is in thehorizontal direction with units of OFDM symbols; and frequency is in thevertical direction with units of subcarriers.

The resource grid 304 may be used to schematically representtime-frequency resources for a given antenna port. That is, in amultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) implementation with multipleantenna ports available, a corresponding multiple number of resourcegrids 304 may be available for communication. The resource grid 304 isdivided into multiple resource elements (REs) 306. An RE, which is 1subcarrier×1 symbol, is the smallest discrete part of the time-frequencygrid, and contains a single complex value representing data from aphysical channel or signal. Depending on the modulation utilized in aparticular implementation, each RE may represent one or more bits ofinformation. In some examples, a block of REs may be referred to as aphysical resource block (PRB) or a resource block (RB) 308, whichcontains any suitable number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequencydomain. In one example, an RB may include 12 subcarriers, a numberindependent of the numerology used. In some examples, depending on thenumerology, an RB may include any suitable number of consecutive OFDMsymbols in the time domain. Within the present disclosure, it is assumedthat a single RB such as the RB 308 entirely corresponds to a singledirection of communication (either transmission or reception for a givendevice).

Scheduling of UEs (e.g., scheduled entities) for downlink or uplinktransmissions typically involves scheduling one or more resourceelements 306 within one or more sub-bands. Thus, a UE generally utilizesonly a subset of the resource grid 304. In some examples, an RB may bethe smallest unit of resources that can be allocated to a UE. Thus, themore RBs scheduled for a UE, and the higher the modulation scheme chosenfor the air interface, the higher the data rate for the UE.

In this illustration, the RB 308 is shown as occupying less than theentire bandwidth of the subframe 302, with some subcarriers illustratedabove and below the RB 308. In a given implementation, the subframe 302may have a bandwidth corresponding to any number of one or more RBs 308.Further, in this illustration, the RB 308 is shown as occupying lessthan the entire duration of the subframe 302, although this is merelyone possible example.

Each 1 ms subframe 302 may consist of one or multiple adjacent slots. Inthe example shown in FIG. 3, one subframe 302 includes four slots 310,as an illustrative example. In some examples, a slot may be definedaccording to a specified number of OFDM symbols with a given cyclicprefix (CP) length. For example, a slot may include 7 or 14 OFDM symbolswith a nominal CP. Additional examples may include mini-slots, sometimesreferred to as shortened transmission time intervals (TTIs), having ashorter duration (e.g., one to three OFDM symbols). These mini-slots orshortened transmission time intervals (TTIs) may in some cases betransmitted occupying resources scheduled for ongoing slot transmissionsfor the same or for different UEs. Any number of resource blocks may beutilized within a subframe or slot.

An expanded view of one of the slots 310 illustrates the slot 310including a control region 312 and a data region 314. In general, thecontrol region 312 may carry control channels, and the data region 314may carry data channels. Of course, a slot may contain all DL, all UL,or at least one DL portion and at least one UL portion. The structureillustrated in FIG. 3 is merely exemplary in nature, and different slotstructures may be utilized, and may include one or more of each of thecontrol region(s) and data region(s).

In some examples, the slot 310 may be utilized for broadcast or unicastcommunication. For example, a broadcast, multicast, or groupcastcommunication may refer to a point-to-multipoint transmission by onedevice (e.g., a base station, UE, or other similar device) to otherdevices. Here, a broadcast communication is delivered to all devices,whereas a multicast communication is delivered to multiple intendedrecipient devices. A unicast communication may refer to a point-to-pointtransmission by a one device to a single other device.

In an example of cellular communication over a cellular carrier via a Uuinterface, for a DL transmission, the scheduling entity (e.g., a basestation) may allocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., within the controlregion 312) to carry DL control information including one or more DLcontrol channels, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH),to one or more scheduled entities (e.g., UEs). The PDCCH carriesdownlink control information (DCI) including but not limited to powercontrol commands (e.g., one or more open loop power control parametersand/or one or more closed loop power control parameters), schedulinginformation, a grant, and/or an assignment of REs for DL and ULtransmissions. The PDCCH may further carry HARQ feedback transmissionssuch as an acknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK). HARQis a technique well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art, whereinthe integrity of packet transmissions may be checked at the receivingside for accuracy, e.g., utilizing any suitable integrity checkingmechanism, such as a checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If theintegrity of the transmission confirmed, an ACK may be transmitted,whereas if not confirmed, a NACK may be transmitted. In response to aNACK, the transmitting device may send a HARQ retransmission, which mayimplement chase combining, incremental redundancy, etc.

The base station may further allocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., in thecontrol region 312 or the data region 314) to carry other DL signals,such as a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); a phase-trackingreference signal (PT-RS); a channel state information (CSI) referencesignal (CSI-RS); a primary synchronization signal (PSS); and a secondarysynchronization signal (SSS). A UE may utilize the PSS and SSS toachieve radio frame, subframe, slot, and symbol synchronization in thetime domain, identify the center of the channel (system) bandwidth inthe frequency domain, and identify the physical cell identity (PCI) ofthe cell. The synchronization signals PSS and SSS, and in some examples,the PBCH and a PBCH DMRS, may be transmitted in a synchronization signalblock (SSB). The PBCH may further include a master information block(MIB) that includes various system information, along with parametersfor decoding a system information block (SIB). The SIB may be, forexample, a SystemInformationType 1 (SIB1) that may include variousadditional system information. Examples of system informationtransmitted in the MIB may include, but are not limited to, a subcarrierspacing, system frame number, a configuration of a PDCCH controlresource set (CORESET) (e.g., PDCCH CORESETO), and a search space forSIB 1. Examples of additional system information transmitted in the SIB1may include, but are not limited to, a random access search space,downlink configuration information, and uplink configurationinformation. The MIB and SIB1 together provide the minimum systeminformation (SI) for initial access.

In an UL transmission, the scheduled entity (e.g., UE) may utilize oneor more REs 306 to carry UL control information (UCI) including one ormore UL control channels, such as a physical uplink control channel(PUCCH), to the scheduling entity. UCI may include a variety of packettypes and categories, including pilots, reference signals, andinformation configured to enable or assist in decoding uplink datatransmissions. Examples of uplink reference signals may include asounding reference signal (SRS) and an uplink DMRS. In some examples,the UCI may include a scheduling request (SR), i.e., request for thescheduling entity to schedule uplink transmissions. Here, in response tothe SR transmitted on the UCI, the scheduling entity may transmitdownlink control information (DCI) that may schedule resources foruplink packet transmissions. UCI may also include HARQ feedback, channelstate feedback (CSF), such as a CSI report, or any other suitable UCI.

In addition to control information, one or more REs 306 (e.g., withinthe data region 314) may be allocated for data traffic. Such datatraffic may be carried on one or more traffic channels, such as, for aDL transmission, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or for anUL transmission, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In someexamples, one or more REs 306 within the data region 314 may beconfigured to carry other signals, such as one or more SIBs and DMRSs.

In an example of sidelink communication over a sidelink carrier via aPC5 interface, the control region 312 of the slot 310 may include aphysical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) including sidelink controlinformation (SCI) transmitted by an initiating (transmitting) sidelinkdevice (e.g., V2X or other sidelink device) towards a set of one or moreother receiving sidelink devices. The data region 314 of the slot 310may include a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) includingsidelink data traffic transmitted by the initiating (transmitting)sidelink device within resources reserved over the sidelink carrier bythe transmitting sidelink device via the SCI. Other information mayfurther be transmitted over various REs 306 within slot 310. Forexample, HARQ feedback information may be transmitted in a physicalsidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) within the slot 310 from the receivingsidelink device to the transmitting sidelink device. In addition, one ormore reference signals, such as a sidelink SSB and/or a sidelink CSI-RS,may be transmitted within the slot 310.

These physical channels described above are generally multiplexed andmapped to transport channels for handling at the medium access control(MAC) layer. Transport channels carry blocks of information calledtransport blocks (TB). The transport block size (TBS), which maycorrespond to a number of bits of information, may be a controlledparameter, based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and thenumber of RBs in a given transmission.

The channels or carriers described above in connection with FIGS. 1-3are not necessarily all of the channels or carriers that may be utilizedbetween a scheduling entity and scheduled entities, and those ofordinary skill in the art will recognize that other channels or carriersmay be utilized in addition to those illustrated, such as other traffic,control, and feedback channels.

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of a comparison of OFDM and SC-FDM(e.g., DFT-s-OFDM) as may be implemented within a radio access network,such as the RAN 200 illustrated in FIG. 2. In some examples, thisillustration may represent wireless resources as they may be allocatedin an OFDM or SC-FDM system that utilizes MIMO. It should be understoodthat the concepts illustrated in FIG. 4 may also be applicable to aradio access network implementing OFDMA or SC-FDMA on a downlink channeland/or an uplink channel.

In an OFDM system, a two-dimensional grid of resource elements (REs) maybe defined by separation of frequency resources into closely spacednarrowband frequency subcarriers, and separation of time resources intoa sequence of OFDM symbols having a given duration. In the example shownin FIG. 4, each RE is represented by a rectangle having the dimensionsof one subcarrier (e.g., 15 kHz bandwidth) by one OFDM symbol (e.g.,1/15 kHz=667 ms duration).

Thus, each RE represents a subcarrier modulated for the OFDM symbolperiod by one OFDM data symbol. Each OFDM symbol may be modulated using,for example, quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16 quadratureamplitude modulation (QAM), 64 QAM, or any other suitable modulation.For simplicity, only four subcarriers over two OFDM symbol periods areillustrated. However, it should be understood that any number ofsubcarriers and OFDM symbol periods may be utilized within a slot orsubframe. Within each OFDM symbol period, respective cyclic prefixes(CPs) may be inserted for each sub-carrier. The CP operates as a guardband between OFDM symbols and is typically generated by copying a smallpart of the end of an OFDM symbol to the beginning of the OFDM symbol.

By setting the spacing between the subcarriers based on the symbol rate,inter-symbol interference can be reduced or eliminated. OFDM channelssupport high data rates by allocating a data stream in a parallel manneracross multiple sub-carriers. However, OFDM suffers from highpeak-to-average power ratio (PAPR), which can make OFDM undesirable onthe uplink, where UE (scheduled entity) transmit power efficiency andamplifier cost are important factors. In addition, OFDM may beundesirable for high band (e.g., above 52.6 GHz) networks, where thepath loss is more severe.

In an SC-FDM system, a two-dimensional grid of resource elements (REs)may be defined by utilizing a wider bandwidth single carrier frequency,and separating the time resources into a sequence of SC-FDM symbolshaving a given duration. In the example shown in FIG. 4, a 60 kHzcarrier is shown corresponding to the four 15 kHz subcarriers in theOFDM system. In addition, although the OFDM and SC-FDM symbols have thesame duration, each SC-FDM symbol contains N “Sub-Symbols” thatrepresent the modulated data symbols. Thus, in the example shown in FIG.4 with four modulated data symbols, in the OFDM system, the fourmodulated data symbols are transmitted in parallel (one persub-carrier), while in the SC-FDM system, the four modulated datasymbols are transmitted in series at four times the rate, with each datasymbol occupying 4×15 kHz bandwidth.

By transmitting the N data symbols in series at N times the rate, theSC-FDM bandwidth is the same as the multi-carrier OFDM system; however,the PAPR is greatly reduced. In general, as the number of subcarriersincreases, the PAPR of the OFDM system approaches Gaussian noisestatistics, but regardless of the number of subcarriers, the SC-FDM PAPRremains substantially the same. Thus, SC-FDM may provide benefits on theuplink by increasing the transmit power efficiency and reducing thepower amplifier cost. In addition, SC-FDM may provide benefits in highband networks for better coverage.

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of an SC-FDM system 500 as may beimplemented between a transmitter 550 and a receiver 552 within a radioaccess network, such as the RAN 200 shown in FIG. 2. In some examples,the transmitter 550 corresponds to a scheduled entity (e.g., a UE) andthe receiver 552 corresponds to a scheduling entity (e.g., a basestation). In other examples, the transmitter 550 may correspond to ascheduling entity (e.g., a base station) and the receiver 552 maycorrespond to a scheduled entity (e.g., a UE). In the example shown inFIG. 5, the transmitter 550 and receiver 552 each include a singleantenna 514 and 518, respectively. However, it should be understood thatthe transmitter 550 and receiver 552 may each include any number ofantennas.

The transmitter 550 may receive a symbol stream s, which may be oflength M and be composed of complex modulated symbols generated from anoriginal bit stream using a particular modulation scheme (e.g., QPSK, 16QAM, 64 QAM, etc.). The symbol stream s may be encoded (not shown) andinput to an M-point discrete Fourier transform (DFT) 502 (correspondingto the length M of the symbol stream), which performs DFT precoding onthe symbol stream s. In general, the DFT 502 constructs a discretefrequency domain representation of the complex modulated symbols toproduce precoded symbols. At the output of the DFT 502, the precodedsymbols are then mapped onto the assigned subcarriers by mappingcircuitry 504 to produce modulated subcarriers. In some examples, theassigned subcarriers form a set of contiguous tones representing asingle carrier waveform. The modulated subcarriers then pass through anN-point inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) 506 for time domainconversion to produce respective SC-FDM sub-symbols, as shown in FIG. 4.Multiple SC-FDM sub-symbols may be transmitted within an SC-FDM symbol,as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, one SC-FDM symbol carries M complex modulatedsymbols.

The SC-FDM sub-symbols output from the N-point IFFT 506 pass through aparallel-to-serial (P-to-S) converter 508 and cyclic prefix (CP)insertion circuitry 510, where guard intervals (e.g., cyclic prefixes)are inserted between SC-FDM symbols (e.g., blocks of SC-FDM sub-symbols)in order to reduce inter-symbol interference (ISI) caused by multi-pathpropagation among the SC-FDM symbols. The SC-FDM symbols and CPs arethen input to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC)/radio frequency (RF)circuitry 512 for analog conversion and up-conversion of the analogsignal to RF. The RF signal may then be transmitted via antenna 514.

The RF signal traverses a wireless channel 516 to the receiver 552,where the RF signal is received by the antenna 518, down-converted tobaseband, and then converted to a digital signal by RF/analog-to-digitalconverter (ADC) circuitry 520. The digital signal may then be providedto CP Removal circuitry 522, where the CP is removed from between SC-FDMsymbols. The SC-FDM symbols may then be input to a serial-to-parallel(S-to-P) converter 524 and an N-point fast Fourier transform (FFT) 526,where the time domain signal is transformed to a frequency domainsignal. Subcarrier de-mapping may then be performed by de-mappingcircuitry 528, and the de-mapped signal is input to an M-point IDFT 530for time domain conversion to produce the symbol stream s of complexmodulated symbols. Further signal processing may then be performed todemodulate and decode the symbol stream to produce the original bitstream.

In examples in which the transmitter 550 corresponds to a UE and thereceiver 552 corresponds to a base station, the base station may assigna particular carrier (e.g., a frequency band corresponding to one ormore RBs) to the UE for communication with the base station on theuplink using a single carrier waveform. The base station may furtherfrequency division multiplex (FDM) multiple UEs on the uplink, whereeach UE transmits a respective single carrier waveform on a differentrespective carrier to enable each of the UEs to benefit from low PAPR.In some examples, the RB assignment to each UE is contiguous (e.g., afirst UE is assigned RBs 0 and 1, a second UE is assigned RBs 2 and 3,etc.), thus creating a localized frequency division multiplexing (L-FDM)scheme.

The localized single carrier waveforms in L-FDM systems are suitable forproviding frequency domain separation between the UEs. However, L-FDMmay not provide sufficient flexibility in time domain implementations.In time domain implementations, the DFT precoder 502, mapping circuitry504, and IFFT 506 may be considered a sinc function based filter forfiltering the complex modulated symbols, and therefore, the DFT precoder502, mapping circuitry 504, and IFFT 506 may be replaced by a filterthat is configured to produce the localized single carrier waveform.However, the use of a filter instead of an IFFT may produce a smoothingeffect, resulting in bandwidth expansion of the waveform. As a result, aguard band (e.g., one or more RBs) may be needed between carrierassignments (e.g., RB assignments) to UEs, resulting in bandwidthunder-utilization. For example, a first UE may be assigned RBs 0 and 1and a second UE may be assigned RBs 3 and 4, with RB 2 being a guardband between the first UE and the second UE. In addition, if theresource (carrier) assignment for a UE changes, the filtering may needto be modified, which may result in additional complexity in UEimplementation. Such a filtering change may also produce anon-negligible gap during which the UE may not be able to transmit orreceive signals properly.

Therefore, in various aspects of the disclosure, L-FDM may be combinedwith an interleaved FDM (I-FDM) scheme to improve system flexibilitywith single carrier waveforms and to accommodate time domainimplementations. In an I-FDM system, multiple UEs may be multiplexed oninterleaved REs (e.g., interleaved subcarriers or tones). Each UE may beassigned a set of interleaved tones within a particular bandwith, wherethe set of interleaved tones forms an interlace. In some examples, eachinterlace may include equally spaced tones within a given bandwidth,whereas in other examples, one or more of the interlaces may includenon-equally spaced interleaved tones.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of multiplexing using an I-FDM schemeimplemented within an L-FDM system. In the example shown in FIG. 6, atotal bandwidth (e.g., a system bandwidth or a bandwidth supported byone or more UEs) may be divided into a plurality of bandwidth parts(BWPs), two of which 602 a and 602 b are shown for convenience. Each BWP602 a and 602 b includes two or more contiguous RBs, each including aplurality of contiguous tones 604 (e.g., subcarriers or frequencies).

Each BWP 602 a and 602 b may be divided into two or more interlaces 606,where each interlace 606 includes a respective number of interleavedtones 604. For example, in each of BWP 602 a and 602 b, there are fourinterlaces 606. Each interlace 606 includes equally spaced interleavedtones 604. For example, in BWP 602 a, Interlaces 1, 2, 3, and 4 includealternating interleaved tones 604, in which Interlaces 1 and 2 includealternating interleaved tones in a first portion of BWP 602 a andInterlaces 3 and 4 include alternating interleaved tones in a secondportion of BWP 602 a. Similarly, in BWP 602 b, Interlaces 5, 6, 7, and 8also include alternating interleaved tones 604. However, in BWP 602 b,Interlaces 5, 6, 7, and 8 span across the entire frequency band of BWP602 b. Thus, in BWP 602 b, the respective tones 604 in each interlace606 are separated by three tones (e.g., include every fourth tone),whereas in BWP 602 a, the respective tones 604 in each interlace 606 areseparated by one tone (e.g., include every other tone).

In some examples, each of the interlaces 606 may be assigned to arespective UE for uplink transmissions from the UE to the base stationacross one or more symbols 608 a, 608 b, . . . 608N of a slot 610. Theinterlace assignment for a particular UE may be per symbol 608, per slot610, or across multiple slots. For example, a first UE may be assignedInterlace 1 in a first symbol 608 a of the slot 610 and a second UE maybe assigned Interlace 1 in a second symbol 608 b of the slot. For timedomain implementations, where the UE includes a filter instead of anIFFT, guard bands between the interlaces 606 are not needed to enablethe different UEs to generate respective single carrier waveforms viathe assigned interlace(s) within the same bandwidth part. However, aguard band 612 may be provided between BWPs 602 a and 602 b toaccommodate bandwidth expansion in time domain implementations. Bymultiplexing multiple UEs within each BWP 602 a and 602 b, the number ofguard bands may be reduced, thus allowing more efficient utilization ofthe total bandwidth.

In some examples, one or more of the UEs may be assigned two or moreinterlaces 606 within a particular BWP or across BWPs. To maintain theL-FDM, in examples in which a UE is assigned multiple interlaces acrosstwo or more BWPs, the two or more BWPs should be contiguous to oneanother. By equally spacing the interleaved tones 604 across each of theinterlaces 606 assigned to a UE, a UE is able generate a single carrierwaveform via the assigned interlaces, thus maintaining low PAPR on theuplink. For example, a particular UE may be assigned Interlaces 1 and 2in BWP1 and may combine Interlaces 1 and 2 to generate a single carrierwaveform via the assigned interlaces. The base station may transmit arespective indication of the one or more interlaces assigned to each ofthe UEs via, for example, radio resource control (RRC) signaling or viadownlink control information (DCI).

In other examples, when multiple interlaces 606 are assigned to a UE,each of the interlaces 606 may be utilized by a different transmitter,logical port (e.g., which may be spread across one or more physicalantennas), or panel (e.g., a set of two or more physical antennas) onthe UE. In this example, single carrier waveforms may be generated byeach of the transmitters, ports, or panels without the constraint ofequal spacing across the interlaces 606. For example, a UE may beassigned Interlace 1 and Interlace 4 and may utilize Interlace 1 on onetransmitter/port/panel and Interlace 4 on anothertransmitter/port/panel. In other examples, the interlaces 606 may beutilized by the base station on the downlink to communicate with each ofa plurality of UEs via a respective interlace 606. For example, each ofthe interlaces 606 may be assigned to a respective transmitter, port, orpanel on the base station to enable single carrier waveforms to begenerated on the downlink to each of the UEs. Again, in this example,the spacing between interleaved tones 604 in each of the interlaces 606may vary between the interlaces 606 since each interlace is utilized bya different transmitter/port/panel.

The number of interlaces and configuration of the interlaces in a givenBWP 602 a or 602 b may take into consideration the impact on the channelestimation performed by the UE. When an interlace 606 includes closertones (e.g., localized within a portion of the BWP and/or with smallerseparation therebetween), the tones may be more closely correlated thanwhen the tones are spread out over the BWP. Thus, the interlaceconfiguration in BWP 602 a may reduce the channel estimation complexityat the UE. Moreover, in time domain implementations, switchinginterlaces within a particular BWP (e.g., BWP 602 b) may not require anymodifications to the filter, thus reducing the complexity at the UE andenabling the UE to continue to transmit and receive properly immediatelyupon re-assignment of the UE to a new interlace in the same BWP.

FIG. 7 illustrates another example of multiplexing using an I-FDM schemeimplemented within an L-FDM system. In the example shown in FIG. 7, eachof the BWPs, two of which 702 a and 702 b are shown for convenience,includes two or more interlaces 706, where the spacing between tones 704within each of the interlaces 706 varies between the interlaces 706. Forexample, in BWP 702 a, there are two interlaces 706, Interlace 1 andInterlace 2, where the interleaved tones 704 in Interlace 1 areseparated by three tones (e.g., include every fourth tone), and theinterleaved tones 704 in Interlace 2 include two contiguous tonesoccurring between the interleaved tones 704 in Interlace 1. As anotherexample, in BWP 2, there are three interlaces 706, Interlace 3, 4, and5, where the interleaved tones 704 in Interlace 3 are separated by onetone (e.g., include every other tone), and the interleaved tones 704 inInterlaces 4 and 5 are each separated by three tones (e.g., includeevery fourth tone).

As in FIG. 6, in the example shown in FIG. 7, each of the interlaces 706may be assigned to a respective UE for uplink transmissions from the UEto the base station across one or more symbols 708 a, 708 b, . . . 708Nof a slot 710. The interlace assignment for a particular UE may be persymbol 708, per slot 710, or across multiple slots. In addition, one ormore of the UEs may be assigned two or more of the interlaces 706. Inthe example shown in FIG. 7, since the spacing between the tones is notequal across the interlaces 706, when a UE is assigned two or more ofthe interlaces 706, each of the interlaces 706 may be utilized by adifferent transmitter or panel to maintain a single carrier waveformwith low PAPR. Furthermore, on the downlink, each of the interlaces 706may be utilized by a different transmitter/panel on the base station tomaintain a single carrier waveform with low PAPR to each of a pluralityof UEs.

Within an I-FDM, an L-FDM, or a combined I-FDM and L-FDM system, such asthat shown above in FIGS. 6 and 7, multiplexing of different channels orsignals in a slot 710 from a UE to the base station or from the basestation to the UE may be desirable. In order to maintain the low PAPRwith a single carrier waveform, symbol-level time division multiplexing(TDM) between the different channels or signals may be utilized. Forexample, the base station may apply symbol-level TDM to the PDCCH DMRSand the PDCCH, where the PDCCH DMRS may be transmitted in a first symbol(e.g., symbol 708 a) and the PDCCH may be transmitted in a second symbol(e.g., symbol 708 b). However, symbol-level TDM for the PDCCH DMRS andthe PDCCH may result in resource under-utilization as a result of therequirement of at least two symbols for control information. This couldresult in unnecessary control overhead, especially when the UE is in ahigh geometry where two full symbols for PDCCH DMRS and PDCCH may not benecessary. Similarly, the base station may apply symbol-level TDMbetween the PDSCH DMRS and the PDSCH or between the PDCCH and the PDSCH,which may not yield full resource utilization.

Therefore, in various aspects of the disclosure, intra-symbolmultiplexing may be implemented utilizing pre-DFT signal multiplexing.For example, intra-symbol multiplexing of the PDCCH DMRS and the PDDCHmay minimize the overhead as compared to symbol-level TDM of the PDCCHDMRS and the PDCCH. Similarly, intra-symbol multiplexing of the PDSCHDMRS and the PDSCH or the PDCCH and the PDSCH may further reduce theoverhead. Similarly, on the uplink intra-symbol multiplexing may beutilized to multiplex the PUSCH together with the DMRS and/or SRS, orother channel/signal.

The intra-symbol multiplexing may be equally applicable to L-FDM singlecarrier waveforms, I-FDM single carrier waveforms and combined L-DFM andI-FDM single carrier waveforms. For example, for combined L-FDM andI-FDM single carrier waveforms, where different interlaces are assignedto respective transmitters or panels of a base station, a giventransmitter or panel may multiplex multiple channels/signals within asymbol (e.g., a DFT-s-OFDM symbol) using pre-DFT signal multiplexingwithout incurring a larger PAPR.

To implement pre-DFT signal multiplexing between the PDSCH and otherinformation (e.g., DMRS, PDCCH, or other signaling, such as asynchronization signal block (SSB) or channel stateinformation-reference signal (CSI-RS)), the transmitter (e.g., basestation) and receiver (e.g., UE) may be configured to support pre-DFTtime domain rate-matching. As used herein, the term rate-matching refersto a process of matching the number of bits in a transport block (TB)containing the data transmitted over the PDSCH to the number of bitsthat can be transmitted in the resources scheduled for the PDSCH. Insome examples, rate-matching may be performed after encoding of one ormore code blocks of the TB, and may include interleaving, bitcollection, bit selection, and/or pruning. At the UE, rate de-matchingmay be performed to extract the encoded code blocks. However, forsimplicity, the term, rate-matching, may be used herein to refer toeither rate-matching performed at the base station or rate de-matchingperformed at the UE (or vice-versa). In addition, the term,multiplexing, may be used herein to refer to either multiplexingperformed at the base station or de-multiplexing performed at the UE (orvice-versa).

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a portion of a transmitter 800configured to implement pre-DFT multiplexing in a SC-FDM system. In someexamples, the transmitter 800 may be included in a base station, whilein other examples, the transmitter 800 may be included in a UE.

The transmitter 800 includes rate-matching circuitry 802, a multiplexer804, an M-point DFT 806, mapping circuitry 808, and an N-point IFFT 810.The rate-matching circuitry 802 may be configured to receive dataincluding a plurality of complex modulated symbols and to rate-match thedata around other information to be multiplexed with the data. In someexamples, the data may be of length X and may be encoded (not shown)prior to rate-matching.

In order for the rate-matching circuitry 802 to perform rate-matching,the base station may schedule time domain resources within a singlecarrier symbol (e.g., a DFT-s-OFDM symbol), such as the SC-FDM symbolshown in FIG. 4, for both the data and the other information. In someexamples, the granularity of time domain resources may be in terms ofsamples, where each sample corresponds to a complex modulated (andencoded) symbol. For example, the base station may schedule a firstnumber of samples in the time domain for the data and a second number ofsamples in the time domain for the other information. Thus, the firstnumber of samples corresponds to the usable samples for the data. Thenumber of usable samples may be determined based on the total number ofsamples that may be transmitted in the SC-FDM symbol and the number ofsamples allocated to the other information. In addition, in singlecarrier symbols carrying PDCCH, the usable samples for the data may beindicated with time domain control resource set (CORESET) granularity,which indicates the samples utilized for the PDCCH and the PDCCH DMRS.

The number of usable samples for the data may be input to therate-matching circuitry 802 as a time domain rate-matching indicator812. The time domain rate-matching indicator 812 may further indicatethe total number of samples that may be transmitted within a singlecarrier symbol. Based on the number of usable samples, the rate-matchingcircuitry 802 may rate-match the data of length X to produce data oflength Y. As indicated above, the rate-matching circuitry 802 mayperform interleaving, bit collection, bit selection, and/or pruning toproduce the rate-matched data of length Y.

The rate-matched data and the other information may then be input to themultiplexer 804 to multiplex the rate-matched data and the otherinformation to produce a symbol stream s of length M. In some examples,the multiplexer 804 may multiplex the rate-matched data and the otherinformation based on time domain scheduling information 814. Forexample, the time domain scheduling information 814 may indicate thespecific time domain samples assigned to the rate-matched data and thespecific time domain samples assigned to the other information. Inexamples in which the other information includes multiple channel/signaltypes (e.g., PDCCH, DMRS, SSB, and/or CSI-RS on the downlink or DMRS andSRS on the uplink), the time domain scheduling information 814 mayindicate the specific time domain samples assigned to each of thechannel/signal types.

The symbol stream s may be input to an M-point discrete Fouriertransform (DFT) 806 (corresponding to the length M of the symbolstream), which performs DFT precoding on the symbol stream s. At theoutput of the DFT 806, the precoded symbols are then mapped onto theassigned subcarriers by the mapping circuitry 808 to produce modulatedsubcarriers. In some examples, the assigned subcarriers form a set ofcontiguous or interleaved tones representing a single carrier waveform.The modulated subcarriers then pass through the N-point IFFT 810 fortime domain conversion to produce respective SC-FDM sub-symbols, asshown in FIG. 4. Multiple SC-FDM sub-symbols may be transmitted withinan SC-FDM symbol, as shown in FIG. 4. Thus, one SC-FDM symbol carries Mcomplex modulated symbols.

In examples in which the transmitter is included within a UE, the timedomain rate-matching indicator 812 may be transmitted from the basestation to the UE via, for example, an RRC message or DCI. In addition,the time domain scheduling information 814 may further be transmittedfrom the base station to the UE via DCI.

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration of a portion of a receiver 900configured to implement post-DFT de-multiplexing in a SC-FDM system. Insome examples, the receiver 900 may be included in a base station, whilein other examples, the receiver 900 may be included in a UE.

The receiver 900 includes an N-point FFT 902, de-mapping circuitry 904,an M-point IDFT 906, a de-multiplexer 908, and de-rate-matching(referred to hereinafter as rate-matching) circuitry 910. The receivedSC-FDM symbols may be input to the N-point FFT 902, where the timedomain signal is transformed to a frequency domain signal. Subcarrierde-mapping may then be performed by the de-mapping circuitry 904, andthe de-mapped signal is input to the M-point IDFT 906 for time domainconversion to produce the symbol stream s of complex modulated symbols.

The symbol stream s includes both rate-matched data and otherinformation, which may be de-multiplexed by the de-multiplexer 908. Thede-multiplexer 908 may de-multiplex the rate-matched data and the otherinformation based on the time domain scheduling information 914. Forexample, the time domain scheduling information 914 may indicate thespecific time domain samples assigned to the rate-matched data and thespecific time domain samples assigned to the other information. Theoutput of the de-multiplexer 908 thus includes both the rate-matcheddata and the other information.

The rate-matched data may be input to the rate-matching circuitry 910 torecover the original data (e.g., the original complex modulated (andencoded) data symbols). Further signal processing may then be performedto demodulate and decode the data and the other information to producethe original bit streams.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example of an SC-FDM symbol (e.g., a DFT-s-OFDMsymbol) 1000 including time domain multiplexed data (e.g., PDSCH 1016)and other information. The other information in the SC-FDM symbol 1000includes a PDCCH CORESET 1002, including the PDCCH DMRS 1004 and PDCCH1006, along with an SSB and/or CSI-RS 1010 and a PDSCH DMRS 1014. Inaddition, the other information further includes a respective timedomain gap 1008 and 1012 separating the SSB and/or CSI-RS 1010 from thePDCCH 1006 and the PDSCH DMRS 1014, where each time domain gap 1008 and1012 is equivalent to one or more time domain samples. In the exampleshown in FIG. 10, the usable samples 1018 for the PDSCH 1016 are locatedat the end of the SC-FDM symbol, such that the remaining samples arereserved for the other information.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example of an SC-FDM symbol (e.g., aDFT-s-OFDM symbol) 1100 including time domain multiplexed data (e.g.,PDSCH 1114) and other information. The other information in the SC-FDMsymbol 1100 includes a PDCCH CORESET 1102, including the PDCCH DMRS 1104and PDCCH 1106, along with an SSB and/or CSI-RS 1110. In addition, theother information further includes a respective time domain gap 1108 and1112 separating the SSB and/or CSI-RS 1110 from the PDCCH 1106 and thePDSCH 1114, where each time domain gap 1108 and 1112 is equivalent toone or more time domain samples. In the example shown in FIG. 11, thePDCCH DMRS 1104 may be shared between the PDCCH 1106 and the PDSCH 1114,thus increasing the amount of usable samples 1116 for the PDSCH 1114, ascompared to the configuration shown in FIG. 10. With a single carrierwaveform, the PDCCH 1106 and the PDSCH 1114 span the same bandwidth, andas such, the DMRS (e.g., PDCCH DMRS 1104) may be shared between thecontrol and data. The DMRS sharing may be indicated to the UE, forexample, in the PDCCH 1106 or pre-configured via RRC signaling.

FIG. 12 illustrates another example of an SC-FDM symbol (e.g., aDFT-s-OFDM symbol) 1200 including time domain multiplexed data and otherinformation. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the other informationincludes a plurality of PDSCH DMRS chunks 1202 a, 1202 b, and 1202 c,each separating respective portions of a PDSCH 1204 a, 1204 b, and 1204c. Thus, the number of usable samples for the PDSCH 1204 a, 1204 b, and1204 c excludes the PDSCH DMRS chunks 1202 a, 1202 b, and 1202 c.

In some examples, the chunk size and number of PDSCH DMRS chunks 1202 a,1202 b, and 1202 c per SC-FDM symbol 1200 may be configured based on thechannel (e.g., channel state feedback), or the MCS, bandwidth, and/or RBassignment. For example, for high MCS, multiple chunks may be insertedinto the SC-FDM symbol 1200 to enable the UE to manage phase noisewithin the SC-FDM symbol 1200. In examples in which the SC-FDM symbol1200 further includes a PDCCH and PDCCH DMRS (not shown), the PDCCH DMRSmay further include one or more chunks. The PDCCH DMRS pattern (e.g.,size of chunks and number of chunks) may be pre-configured and signaledvia an RRC message, whereas the PDSCH DMRS pattern may be eitherpre-configured or indicated in the PDCCH in the same SC-FDM symbol 1200or a previous SC-FDM symbol.

FIG. 13 illustrates another example of an SC-FDM symbol (e.g., aDFT-s-OFDM symbol) 1300 including time domain multiplexed data and otherinformation. In the example shown in FIG. 13, the data includes a PUSCH(e.g., PUSCH portions 1304 and 1314), while the other informationincludes a PUSCH DMRS 1302 and SRS 1310. The other information furtherincludes a respective time domain gap 1308 and 1312 separating the SRS1310 from the PUSCH portions 1304 and 1314, where each time domain gap1308 and 1312 is equivalent to one or more time domain samples. In theexample shown in FIG. 13, the usable samples 1306 a and 1306 b for thePUSCH portions 1304 and 1314 are spread out across the SC-FDM symbol1300.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an exemplary base station employing a processingsystem 1414. For example, the base station 1400 may be a base station(e.g., gNB) as illustrated in any one or more of FIG. 1 or 2.

The base station 1400 may be implemented with a processing system 1414that includes one or more processors 1404. Examples of processors 1404include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors(DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logicdevices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits,and other suitable hardware configured to perform the variousfunctionality described throughout this disclosure. In various examples,the base station 1400 may be configured to perform any one or more ofthe functions described herein. That is, the processor 1404, as utilizedin a base station 1400, may be used to implement any one or more of theprocesses described below. The processor 1404 may in some instances beimplemented via a baseband or modem chip and in other implementations,the processor 1404 may itself comprise a number of devices distinct anddifferent from a baseband or modem chip (e.g., in such scenarios is maywork in concert to achieve embodiments discussed herein). And asmentioned above, various hardware arrangements and components outside ofa baseband modem processor can be used in implementations, includingRF-chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, interleavers,adders/summers, etc.

In this example, the processing system 1414 may be implemented with abus architecture, represented generally by the bus 1402. The bus 1402may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending onthe specific application of the processing system 1414 and the overalldesign constraints. The bus 1402 communicatively couples togethervarious circuits including one or more processors (represented generallyby the processor 1404), a memory 1405, and computer-readable media(represented generally by the computer-readable medium 1406). The bus1402 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources,peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, whichare well known in the art, and therefore, will not be described anyfurther. A bus interface 1408 provides an interface between the bus 1402and a transceiver 1410. The transceiver 1410 provides a means forcommunicating with various other apparatus over a transmission medium(e.g., air interface). An optional user interface 1412 (e.g., keypad,display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided.

The processor 1404 is responsible for managing the bus 1402 and generalprocessing, including the execution of software stored on thecomputer-readable medium 1406. The software, when executed by theprocessor 1404, causes the processing system 1414 to perform the variousfunctions described below for any particular apparatus. Thecomputer-readable medium 1406 and the memory 1405 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processor 1404 when executingsoftware.

One or more processors 1404 in the processing system may executesoftware. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions,instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs,subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications,software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threadsof execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to assoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguage, or otherwise. The software may reside on a computer-readablemedium 1406.

The computer-readable medium 1406 may be a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumincludes, by way of example, a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk,floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disc (CD)or a digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device(e.g., a card, a stick, or a key drive), a random access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM(EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, a removabledisk, and any other suitable medium for storing software and/orinstructions that may be accessed and read by a computer. Thecomputer-readable medium may also include, by way of example, a carrierwave, a transmission line, and any other suitable medium fortransmitting software and/or instructions that may be accessed and readby a computer. The computer-readable medium 1406 may reside in theprocessing system 1414, external to the processing system 1414, ordistributed across multiple entities including the processing system1414. The computer-readable medium 1406 may be embodied in a computerprogram product. In some examples, the computer-readable medium 1406 maybe part of the memory 1405. By way of example, a computer programproduct may include a computer-readable medium in packaging materials.Those skilled in the art will recognize how best to implement thedescribed functionality presented throughout this disclosure dependingon the particular application and the overall design constraints imposedon the overall system.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the processor 1404 may includecircuitry configured for various functions. For example, the processor1404 may include resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442,configured to generate, schedule, and modify a resource assignment orgrant of time-frequency resources (e.g., a set of one or more resourceelements). For example, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry1442 may schedule time-frequency resources within a plurality of timedivision duplex (TDD) and/or frequency division duplex (FDD) subframes,slots, and/or mini-slots to carry user data traffic and/or controlinformation to and/or from multiple UEs.

In some examples, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442may schedule one or more interlaces 1415 within one or more contiguousbandwidth parts (BWPs) to each of a plurality of UEs for communicationwith the base station 1400. The interlaces 1415 may be pre-configuredand stored, for example, in memory 1405. In some examples, the spacingbetween interleaved tones of the interlaces may be equal across theinterlaces within one or more of the BWPs. In other examples, thespacing between interleaved tones of the interlaces may vary between theinterlaces of one or more of the BWPs. For example, non-equally spacedinterlaces may be allocated to a UE for use on differenttransmitters/ports/panels of the UE. In addition, for downlinkcommunication, non-equally spaced interlaces may be assigned todifferent transmitters/ports/panels of the base station. In someexamples, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 mayfurther allocate a respective guard band between each of the BWPs.

The resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 may further beconfigured to allocate resources for intra-symbol multiplexing of dataand other information within a single SC-FDM symbol. For example, theresource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 may be configured toassign a first number of samples of the SC-FDM symbol for data (e.g.,PDSCH or PUSCH) and a second number of samples of the SC-FDM symbol forother information (e.g., PDCCH, DMRS, SSB, CSI-RS, SRS, etc.). Thesamples assigned to the data may be contiguous or spread out across theSC-FDM symbol. In examples in which the data is spread out across theSC-FDM symbol, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 mayfurther be configured to allocate one or more samples to switching gapsbetween the data and the other information or between different types ofother information (e.g., between the PDCCH and the SSB/CSI-RS).

The resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 may further beconfigured to generate time domain scheduling information (TDSI) 1416indicating the first number of samples assigned to data and the secondnumber of samples assigned to the other information. The TDSI 1416 maybe stored, for example, in memory 1405. The resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 1442 may further be configured to execute resourceassignment and scheduling software 1452 stored in the computer-readablemedium 1406 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

The processor 1404 may further include communication and processingcircuitry 1444, configured to communicate with a set of one or more UEs.In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1444 mayinclude one or more hardware components that provide the physicalstructure that performs processes related to wireless communication(e.g., signal reception and/or signal transmission) and signalprocessing (e.g., processing a received signal and/or processing asignal for transmission).

In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1444 may beconfigured to multiplex communication via respective single carrierwaveforms with a plurality of UEs utilizing a combination of L-FDM andI-FDM. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1444 maybe configured to receive a respective uplink single carrier waveformfrom each of a plurality of UEs via one or more respective interlacesassigned to each of the UEs. In addition, the communication andprocessing circuitry 1444 may be configured to transmit a respectivedownlink single carrier waveform to each of a plurality of UEs via oneor more respective interlaces assigned to each of the UEs. Thecommunication and processing circuitry 1444 may further be configured togenerate and transmit a respective indication of the one or moreinterlaces assigned to each of the UEs via, for example, RRC signalingor DCI.

In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1444 may beconfigured to perform pre-DFT multiplexing of data and other controlinformation to generate an SC-FDM symbol. For example, the communicationand processing circuitry 1444 may be configured to utilize the TDSI 1416to perform the pre-DFT multiplexing of the data and other information.The communication and processing circuitry 1444 may further beconfigured to perform rate-matching of the data around the otherinformation prior to multiplexing the rate-matched data with the otherinformation. For example, the communication and processing circuitry1444 may be configured to utilize a time domain rate-matching (TDRM)indication 1418, which may be stored, for example, in memory 1405, toperform the rate-matching. The TDRM indication 1418 may indicate, forexample, a number of usable samples of the SC-FDM symbol for the data.

The communication and processing circuitry 1444 may further beconfigured to transmit the TDRM indication 1418 to a UE for use by theUE in de-rate-matching the SC-FDM symbol communicated to the UE. Inaddition, the communication and processing circuitry 1444 may beconfigured to transmit the TDSI 1416 to the UE for use by the UE inde-multiplexing the rate-matched data and other information. In examplesin which the TDSI 1416 and TDRM indication 1418 correspond to an uplinkSC-FDM symbol, the communication and processing circuitry 1444 may beconfigured to transmit the TDSI 1416 and TDRM indication 1418 to the UEfor use by the UE in performing pre-DFT rate-matching of the data andmultiplexing of the rate-matched data and other information in theuplink SC-FDM symbol. The communication and processing circuitry 1444may further be configured to execute communication and processingsoftware 1454 stored in the computer-readable medium 1406 to implementone or more of the functions described herein.

The processor 1404 may further include interlace configuration circuitry1446, configured to divide each of a plurality of BWPs of a totalbandwidth into interlaces 1415, where each of the interlaces 1415includes a respective number of interleaved tones. In some examples, thespacing between the interleaved tones may be equal across the interlacesin one or more of the BWPs. In other examples, the spacing between theinterleaved tones may vary between the interlaces in one or more of theBWPs. The number of interlaces and spacing between the interleaved tonesof each interlace may be configured based on, for example, the impact onthe channel estimation performed by the UE. The interlaces 1415 (e.g.,an identification of each tone assigned to each interlace) may be storedin memory 1405 for use by the resource assignment and schedulingcircuitry 1442 in assigning the interlaces to UEs. The interlaceconfiguration circuitry 1446 may further be configured to executeinterlace configuration software 1456 stored in the computer-readablemedium 1406 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

The processor 1404 may further include rate-matching configuration andmanagement circuitry 1448, configured to determine a total number ofsamples in an SC-FDM symbol and to generate the TDRM indication 1418based on the TDSI 1416 generated by the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 1442. For example, the number of usable samplesindicated by the TDRM indication 1418 may be determined based on thetotal number of samples that may be transmitted in the SC-FDM symbol andthe number of samples allocated to the other information. In examples inwhich the TDRM indication 1418 is utilized by the base station inprocessing an uplink SC-FDM symbol received from a UE, the rate-matchingconfiguration and management circuitry 1448 may further be configured toprovide the TDRM indication 1418 and TDSI 1416 to the communication andprocessing circuitry 1444 to perform de-multiplexing andde-rate-matching of the uplink SC-FDM symbol. The rate-matchingconfiguration and management circuitry 1448 may further be configured toexecute rate-matching configuration and management software 1458 storedin the computer-readable medium to implement one or more of thefunctions described herein.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an exemplary UE 1500 employing a processing system1514. For example, the UE 1500 may be a UE as illustrated in any one ormore of FIG. 1 or 2.

The processing system 1514 may be substantially the same as theprocessing system 1414 illustrated in FIG. 14, including a bus interface1508, a bus 1502, memory 1505, a processor 1504, and a computer-readablemedium 1506. Furthermore, the UE 1500 may include a user interface 1512and a transceiver 1510 substantially similar to those described above inFIG. 14. In accordance with various aspects of the disclosure, anelement, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elementsmay be implemented with the processing system 1514 that includes one ormore processors 1504. That is, the processor 1504, as utilized in a UE1500, may be used to implement any one or more of the processesdescribed below.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the processor 1504 may includecircuitry configured for various functions. For example, the processor1504 may include communication and processing circuitry 1542 configuredto communicate with a base station. In some examples, the communicationand processing circuitry 1542 may include one or more hardwarecomponents that provide the physical structure that performs processesrelated to wireless communication (e.g., signal reception and/or signaltransmission) and signal processing (e.g., processing a received signaland/or processing a signal for transmission).

In some examples, the communication and processing circuitry 1542 may beconfigured to receive a downlink communication from a base station via asingle carrier waveform and/or to transmit an uplink communication to abase station via a single carrier waveform. In some examples, thedownlink communication and/or uplink communication may utilize one ormore interlaces within one or more contiguous BWPs, each including arespective number of interleaved tones. In some examples, the spacingbetween interleaved tones of the interlaces may be equal across theinterlaces. In other examples, the spacing between interleaved tones ofthe interlaces may vary between the interlaces. For example, non-equallyspaced interlaces may be utilized by the UE 1500 for use on differenttransmitters/ports/panels of the UE. The communication and processingcircuitry 1542 may further be configured to receive an indication of theone or more interlaces 1515 assigned to the UE 1500 from the basestation and to store the assigned interlace(s) 1515 within, for example,memory 1505.

The communication and processing circuitry 1542 may further beconfigured to receive an SC-FDM symbol from the base station includingintra-symbol multiplexed data (e.g., PDCCH) and other information (e.g.,PDCCH, DMRS, SSB, CSI-RS, and/or switching gaps). In addition, thecommunication and processing circuitry 1542 may further be configured toreceive TDSI 1516 and a TDRM indication 1518 from the base station foruse in de-multiplexing and de-rate-matching the data and otherinformation in the SC-FDM symbol. The TDSI 1516 and TDRM indication 1518may further be stored in memory 1505. The communication and processingcircuitry 1542 may further be configured to perform pre-DFT multiplexingof data and other control information to generate an uplink SC-FDMsymbol. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1542 maybe configured to utilize the TDSI 1516 to perform the pre-DFTmultiplexing of the data and other information. The communication andprocessing circuitry 1542 may further be configured to performrate-matching of the data around the other information prior tomultiplexing the rate-matched data with the other information. Forexample, the communication and processing circuitry 1542 may beconfigured to utilize the TDRM indication 1518 to perform therate-matching.

The communication and processing circuitry 1542 may further beconfigured to receive a DMRS pattern from the base station indicating asize and number of DMRS chunks included in an SC-FDM symbol via an RRCmessage of DCI within a PDCCH. In addition, the communication andprocessing circuitry 1542 may further be configured to receive anindication from the base station that a DMRS is to be shared between aPDCCH and a PDSCH contained within the same SC-FDM symbol. Thecommunication and processing circuitry 1542 may further be configured toexecute communication and processing software 1552 stored on thecomputer-readable medium 1506 to implement one or more functionsdescribed herein.

The processor 1504 may further include interlace management circuitry1544, configured to receive the assigned interlace(s) 1515 from the basestation and to provide the assigned interlace(s) 1515 to thecommunication and processing circuitry 1542 to generate an uplink singlecarrier waveform via the assigned interlace(s) 1515 and/or to process adownlink single carrier waveform via the assigned interlace(s) 1515. Theinterlace management circuitry 1544 may further be configured to executeinterlace management software 1554 stored on the computer-readablemedium 1506 to implement one or more of the functions described herein.

The processor 1504 may further include rate-matching managementcircuitry 1546, configured to receive the TDRM indication 1518 from thebase station and to provide the communication and provide the TDRMindication 1518 to the communication and processing circuitry 1542 torate-match data around the other information according to the TDRMindication 1518. The TDRM indication 1518 may indicate, for example, anumber of usable samples within the SC-FDM symbol for the data. Therate-matching management circuitry 1546 may further be configured toexecute rate-matching management software 1556 stored on thecomputer-readable medium 1506 to implement one or more of the functionsdescribed herein.

FIG. 16 is a flow chart 1600 of an exemplary method for a base stationto implement multiplexing with single carrier waveforms according tosome aspects. As described below, some or all illustrated features maybe omitted in a particular implementation within the scope of thepresent disclosure, and some illustrated features may not be requiredfor implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, the method maybe performed by the base station 1400, as described above andillustrated in FIG. 14, by a processor or processing system, or by anysuitable means for carrying out the described functions.

At block 1602, the base station may divide each of a plurality ofbandwidth parts (BWPs) of a total bandwidth into interlaces. Each of theBWPs may include a plurality of tones (e.g., subcarriers or frequencies)and each of the interlaces may include a respective number ofinterleaved tones within a particular BWP. In some examples, the spacingbetween the interleaved tones in each of the interlaces is equal. Inother examples, the spacing between the interleaved tones in each of theinterlaces varies between the interlaces. In some examples, the basestation may further allocate a respective guard band between each of theBWPs. For example, the interlace configuration circuitry 1446 shown anddescribed above in connection with FIG. 14, may configure the interlacesin the BWPs.

At block 1604, the base station may assign each of a plurality of UEs arespective set of one or more interlaces within at least one BWP forcommunication with the base station. In some examples, the interlacesassociated with each of the sets of one or more interlaces aredifferent, such that an interlace is assigned to a single UE at a time.In some examples, the base station may assign a particular UE two ormore of the interlaces, where each of the interlaces is assigned to arespective transmitter/port/panel on the UE. In other examples, the basestation may assign a respective interlace to each of a plurality oftransmitters/ports/panels on the base station to enable communicationwith a respective one of the UEs via a respective one of thetransmitters/ports/panels. For example, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 1442 shown and described above in connection withFIG. 14, may assign the respective sets of interlaces to the UEs.

At block 1606, the base station may communicate with each of the UEsutilizing respective single carrier waveforms via the respective sets ofone or more interlaces. For example, the interlaces may be utilized bythe base station for downlink communication with the UEs via respectivesingle carrier waveforms or by the UEs for uplink communication with thebase station via respective single carrier waveforms. For example, thecommunication and processing circuitry 1444 shown and described above inconnection with FIG. 14, may communicate with each of the UEs utilizingrespective single carrier waveforms via the respective sets of one ormore interlaces.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart 1700 of another exemplary method for a basestation to implement multiplexing with single carrier waveformsaccording to some aspects. As described below, some or all illustratedfeatures may be omitted in a particular implementation within the scopeof the present disclosure, and some illustrated features may not berequired for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, themethod may be performed by the base station 1400, as described above andillustrated in FIG. 14, by a processor or processing system, or by anysuitable means for carrying out the described functions.

At block 1702, the base station may divide each of a plurality ofbandwidth parts (BWPs) of a total bandwidth into interlaces. Each of theBWPs may include a plurality of tones (e.g., subcarriers or frequencies)and each of the interlaces may include a respective number ofinterleaved tones within a particular BWP. In some examples, the spacingbetween the interleaved tones in each of the interlaces is equal. Inother examples, the spacing between the interleaved tones in each of theinterlaces varies between the interlaces. In some examples, the basestation may further allocate a respective guard band between each of theBWPs. For example, the interlace configuration circuitry 1446 shown anddescribed above in connection with FIG. 14, may configure the interlacesin the BWPs.

At block 1704, the base station may assign a particular UE of aplurality of UEs a set of two or more interlaces within at least one BWPfor communication with the base station. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 shown and described above inconnection with FIG. 14, may assign the set of two or more interlaces tothe UEs.

At block 1706, the base station may assign each of the interlaces to arespective transmitter, port, or panel on the particular UE. In someexamples, spacing between respective interleaved tones of each of thetwo or more interlaces varies between the two or more interlaces. Forexample, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 shown anddescribed above in connection with FIG. 14, may assign each interlace toa respective transmitter, port, or panel on the particular UE.

At block 1708, the base station may communicate with the particular UEutilizing a single carrier waveform via the set of two or moreinterlaces. For example, the set of two or more interlaces may beutilized by the base station for downlink communication with theparticular UE via the single carrier waveform or by the particular UEfor uplink communication with the base station via the single carrierwaveform. For example, the communication and processing circuitry 1444shown and described above in connection with FIG. 14, may communicatewith the particular UE utilizing a single carrier waveforms via the setof two or more interlaces.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart 1800 of another exemplary method for a basestation to implement multiplexing with single carrier waveformsaccording to some aspects. As described below, some or all illustratedfeatures may be omitted in a particular implementation within the scopeof the present disclosure, and some illustrated features may not berequired for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, themethod may be performed by the base station 1400, as described above andillustrated in FIG. 14, by a processor or processing system, or by anysuitable means for carrying out the described functions.

At block 1802, the base station may divide each of a plurality ofbandwidth parts (BWPs) of a total bandwidth into interlaces. Each of theBWPs may include a plurality of tones (e.g., subcarriers or frequencies)and each of the interlaces may include a respective number ofinterleaved tones within a particular BWP. In some examples, the spacingbetween the interleaved tones in each of the interlaces is equal. Inother examples, the spacing between the interleaved tones in each of theinterlaces varies between the interlaces. In some examples, the basestation may further allocate a respective guard band between each of theBWPs. For example, the interlace configuration circuitry 1446 shown anddescribed above in connection with FIG. 14, may configure the interlacesin the BWPs.

At block 1804, the base station may assign each of a plurality of UEs arespective set of one or more interlaces within at least one BWP forcommunication with the base station. In some examples, the interlacesassociated with each of the sets of one or more interlaces aredifferent, such that an interlace is assigned to a single UE at a time.In some examples, the base station may assign a particular UE two ormore of the interlaces, where each of the interlaces is assigned to arespective transmitter/port/panel on the UE. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 shown and described above inconnection with FIG. 14, may assign the respective sets of interlaces tothe UEs.

At block 1806, the base station may assign a respective transmitter,port, or panel on the base station to each of the UEs to enablecommunication with each of the UEs via a respective one of thetransmitters/ports/panels. For example, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 1442 shown and described above in connection withFIG. 14, may assign a respective transmitter/port/panel to each of theUEs.

At block 1808, the base station may communicate with each of the UEsutilizing respective single carrier waveforms via the respective sets ofone or more interlaces. For example, the interlaces may be utilized bythe base station for downlink communication with the UEs via respectivesingle carrier waveforms or by the UEs for uplink communication with thebase station via respective single carrier waveforms. For example, thecommunication and processing circuitry 1444 shown and described above inconnection with FIG. 14, may communicate with each of the UEs utilizingrespective single carrier waveforms via the respective sets of one ormore interlaces.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart 1900 of another exemplary method for a basestation to implement multiplexing with single carrier waveformsaccording to some aspects. As described below, some or all illustratedfeatures may be omitted in a particular implementation within the scopeof the present disclosure, and some illustrated features may not berequired for implementation of all embodiments. In some examples, themethod may be performed by the base station 1400, as described above andillustrated in FIG. 14, by a processor or processing system, or by anysuitable means for carrying out the described functions.

At block 1902, the base station may divide each of a plurality ofbandwidth parts (BWPs) of a total bandwidth into interlaces. Each of theBWPs may include a plurality of tones (e.g., subcarriers or frequencies)and each of the interlaces may include a respective number ofinterleaved tones within a particular BWP. In some examples, the spacingbetween the interleaved tones in each of the interlaces is equal. Inother examples, the spacing between the interleaved tones in each of theinterlaces varies between the interlaces. For example, the interlaceconfiguration circuitry 1446 shown and described above in connectionwith FIG. 14, may configure the interlaces in the BWPs.

At block 1904, the base station may allocate a respective guard bandbetween each of the BWPs. For example, a guard band may be providedbetween BWPs to accommodate bandwidth expansion. For example, theinterlace configuration circuitry 1446 shown and described above inconnection with FIG. 14 may allocate a respective guard band betweeneach of the BWPs.

At block 1906, the base station may assign each of a plurality of UEs arespective set of one or more interlaces within at least one BWP forcommunication with the base station. In some examples, the interlacesassociated with each of the sets of one or more interlaces aredifferent, such that an interlace is assigned to a single UE at a time.In some examples, the base station may assign a particular UE two ormore of the interlaces, where each of the interlaces is assigned to arespective transmitter/port/panel on the UE. In other examples, the basestation may assign a respective interlace to each of a plurality oftransmitters/ports/panels on the base station to enable communicationwith a respective one of the UEs via a respective one of thetransmitters/ports/panels. By multiplexing multiple UEs within each BWP,the number of guard bands may be minimized between the UEs, thusallowing more efficient utilization of the total bandwidth. For example,the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 shown anddescribed above in connection with FIG. 14, may assign the respectivesets of interlaces to the UEs.

At block 1908, the base station may communicate with each of the UEsutilizing respective single carrier waveforms via the respective sets ofone or more interlaces. For example, the interlaces may be utilized bythe base station for downlink communication with the UEs via respectivesingle carrier waveforms or by the UEs for uplink communication with thebase station via respective single carrier waveforms. For example, thecommunication and processing circuitry 1444 shown and described above inconnection with FIG. 14, may communicate with each of the UEs utilizingrespective single carrier waveforms via the respective sets of one ormore interlaces.

In one configuration, a base station includes means for dividing each ofa plurality of bandwidth parts of a total bandwidth into interlaces.Each of the bandwidth parts includes a plurality of tones, and each ofthe interlaces includes a respective number of interleaved tones of theplurality of tones. The base station further includes means forassigning each of a plurality of user equipment (UEs) a respective setof one or more interlaces within at least one bandwidth part of theplurality of bandwidth parts for multiplexing communication with thebase station. The interlaces can be associated with each of the sets ofone or more interlaces are different. The base station further includesmeans for communicating with each the plurality of UEs utilizingrespective single carrier waveforms via the respective set of one ormore interlaces.

In one aspect, the aforementioned means for dividing each of theplurality of BWPs into interlaces, means for assigning each of theplurality of UEs a respective set of one or more interlaces, and meansfor communicating with each of the plurality of UEs utilizing respectivesingle carrier waveforms via the respective set of one or moreinterlaces may be the processor(s) 1404 shown in FIG. 14 configured toperform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. For example,the aforementioned means for dividing each of the plurality of BWPs intointerlaces may include the interlace configuration circuitry 1446 shownin FIG. 14. As another example, the aforementioned means for assigningeach of the plurality of UEs a respective set of one or more interlacesmay include the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 1442 shownin FIG. 14. As yet another example, the aforementioned means forcommunicating with each of the plurality of UEs utilizing respectivesingle carrier waveforms via the respective set of one or moreinterlaces may include the communication and processing circuitry 1444shown in FIG. 14. In another aspect, the aforementioned means may be acircuit or any apparatus configured to perform the functions recited bythe aforementioned means.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart 2000 of a method for a UE to implementmultiplexing with a single carrier waveform according to some aspects.As described below, some or all illustrated features may be omitted in aparticular implementation within the scope of the present disclosure,and some illustrated features may not be required for implementation ofall embodiments. In some examples, the method may be performed by the UE1500, as described above and illustrated in FIG. 15, by a processor orprocessing system, or by any suitable means for carrying out thedescribed functions.

At block 2002, the UE may communicate with a base station utilizing asingle carrier waveform transmitted on a carrier, where the carrier istime-divided into a plurality of single carrier symbols (e.g., SC-FDMsymbols), each including a plurality of samples (e.g., complex modulatedsymbols) in the time domain. For example, the communication andprocessing circuitry 1542 shown and described above in connection withFIG. 15, may communicate with the base station utilizing a singlecarrier waveform.

At block 2004, the UE may receive a time domain rate-matching (TDRM)indication from the base station indicating useable samples of aplurality of samples in a single carrier symbol for data. In someexamples, the UE may receive the TDRM indication via RRC signaling orvia DCI within a PDCCH. For example, the rate-matching managementcircuitry 1546, together with the communication and processing circuitry1542, shown and described above in connection with FIG. 15, may receivethe TDRM indication from the base station.

At block 2006, the UE may rate-match (or de-rate-match) the data aroundother information contained in the single carrier symbol based on theTDRM indication to implement multiplexing (or de-multiplexing) of thedata and the other information. In some examples, the other informationin a downlink communication from the base station may include a PDCCH,DMRS, SSB, or CSI-RS. In other examples, the other information in anuplink communication to the base station may include a DMRS or SRS. Insome examples, the DMRS may include DMRS chunks, each including at leastone sample and each being separated in time from one another by arespective portion of a PDSCH. In this example, the UE may furtherreceive a DMRS pattern indicating the size and number of DMRS chunks inthe single carrier symbol. For example, the rate-matching managementcircuitry 1546, together with the communication and processing circuitry1542, shown and described above in connection with FIG. 15, mayrate-match the data around the other control information in the singlecarrier symbol based on the TDRM indication.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart 2100 of a method for a UE to implementmultiplexing with a single carrier waveform according to some aspects.As described below, some or all illustrated features may be omitted in aparticular implementation within the scope of the present disclosure,and some illustrated features may not be required for implementation ofall embodiments. In some examples, the method may be performed by the UE1500, as described above and illustrated in FIG. 15, by a processor orprocessing system, or by any suitable means for carrying out thedescribed functions.

At block 2102, the UE may communicate with a base station utilizing asingle carrier waveform transmitted on a carrier, where the carrier istime-divided into a plurality of single carrier symbols (e.g., SC-FDMsymbols), each including a plurality of samples (e.g., complex modulatedsymbols) in the time domain. For example, the communication andprocessing circuitry 1542 shown and described above in connection withFIG. 15, may communicate with the base station utilizing a singlecarrier waveform.

At block 2104, the UE may receive a time domain rate-matching (TDRM)indication from the base station indicating useable samples of aplurality of samples in a single carrier symbol for data. In someexamples, the UE may receive the TDRM indication via RRC signaling orvia DCI within a PDCCH. For example, the rate-matching managementcircuitry 1546, together with the communication and processing circuitry1542, shown and described above in connection with FIG. 15, may receivethe TDRM indication from the base station.

At block 2106, the UE may receive a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)pattern indicating a size and number of DMRS chunks in the singlecarrier symbol. Here, each DMRK chunk includes at least one DMRS sampleof the plurality of samples, and each of the DMRS chunks is separated intime from one another by a respective portion of a PDSCH.

At block 2108, the UE may rate-match (or de-rate-match) the data aroundother information contained in the single carrier symbol based on theTDRM indication to implement multiplexing (or de-multiplexing) of thedata and the other information. In some examples, the data includes aPDSCH and the other information in a downlink communication from thebase station includes a DMRS. For example, the rate-matching managementcircuitry 1546, together with the communication and processing circuitry1542, shown and described above in connection with FIG. 15, mayrate-match the data around the other control information in the singlecarrier symbol based on the TDRM indication.

In one configuration, a user equipment (UE) includes means forcommunicating with a base station utilizing a single carrier waveformtransmitted on a carrier. The carrier is time-divided into a pluralityof single carrier symbols, each including a plurality of samples in atime domain. The UE further includes means for receiving a time domainrate-matching indication from the base station indicating useablesamples of the plurality of samples for data within of a symbol of theplurality of single carrier symbols, and means for time domainrate-matching the data around other information contained in the symbolbased on the time domain rate-matching indication to implementmultiplexing of the data with the other information in the symbol.

In one aspect, the aforementioned means for communicating with the basestation utilizing a single carrier waveform, means for receiving thetime domain rate-matching indication from the base station, and meansfor time domain rate-matching the data around other informationcontained in the symbol based on the time domain rate-matchingindication may be the processor(s) 1504 shown in FIG. 15. For example,the aforementioned means for communicating with the base station mayinclude the communication and processing circuitry 1542 shown in FIG.15. As another example, the aforementioned means for receiving the timedomain rate-matching indication from the base station may include therate-matching management circuitry 1546 and the communication andprocessing circuitry 1542 shown in FIG. 15. As yet another example, theaforementioned means for time domain rate-matching the data around otherinformation contained in the symbol may include the rate-matchingmanagement circuitry 1546 and the communication and processing circuitry1542 shown in FIG. 15. In another aspect, the aforementioned means maybe a circuit or any apparatus configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

FIG. 22 is a flow chart 2200 of a method for a base station to implementmultiplexing with a single carrier waveform according to some aspects.As described below, some or all illustrated features may be omitted in aparticular implementation within the scope of the present disclosure,and some illustrated features may not be required for implementation ofall embodiments. In some examples, the method may be performed by thebase station 1400, as described above and illustrated in FIG. 14, by aprocessor or processing system, or by any suitable means for carryingout the described functions.

At block 2202, the base station may communicate with a user equipment(UE) utilizing a single carrier waveform transmitted on a carrier, wherethe carrier is time-divided into a plurality of single carrier symbols(e.g., SC-FDM symbols), each including a plurality of samples (e.g.,complex modulated symbols) in the time domain. For example, thecommunication and processing circuitry 1444 shown and described above inconnection with FIG. 14, may communicate with the UE utilizing a singlecarrier waveform.

At block 2204, the base station may transmit a time domain rate-matching(TDRM) indication to the UE indicating useable samples of a plurality ofsamples in a single carrier symbol for data. In some examples, the basestation may transmit the TDRM indication via RRC signaling or via DCIwithin a PDCCH. In some examples, the base station may determine a totalnumber of samples corresponding to the plurality of samples within thesymbol and generate the time domain rate-matching indication based onthe total number of samples, a first number of samples of the pluralityof samples in the symbol allocated for the data and a second number ofsamples of the plurality of samples in the symbol allocated for theother information. For example, the rate-matching configuration andmanagement circuitry 1446, together with the communication andprocessing circuitry 1444, shown and described above in connection withFIG. 14, may transmit the TDRM indication to the UE.

At block 2206, the base station may rate-match (or de-rate-match) thedata around other information contained in the single carrier symbolbased on the TDRM indication to implement multiplexing (orde-multiplexing) of the data and the other information. In someexamples, the other information in a downlink communication from thebase station may include a PDCCH, DMRS, SSB, or CSI-RS. In this example,the base station may perform pre-DFT multiplexing of the rate-matcheddata and the other information to generate the single carrier symbol. Insome examples, the DMRS may include DMRS chunks, each including at leastone sample and each being separated in time from one another by arespective portion of a PDSCH. In this example, the base station mayfurther transmit a DMRS pattern indicating the size and number of DMRSchunks in the single carrier symbol. In other examples, the otherinformation in an uplink communication from the UE may include a DMRS orSRS. For example, the rate-matching configuration and managementcircuitry 1448, together with the communication and processing circuitry1444, shown and described above in connection with FIG. 14, mayrate-match the data around the other control information in the singlecarrier symbol based on the TDRM indication.

In one configuration, a base station includes means for communicatingwith a user equipment (UE) utilizing a single carrier waveformtransmitted on a carrier. The carrier is time-divided into a pluralityof single carrier symbols, each including a plurality of samples in atime domain. The base station further includes means for transmitting atime domain rate-matching indication to the UE indicating useablesamples of the plurality of samples for data within of a symbol of theplurality of single carrier symbols, and means for time domainrate-matching the data around other information contained in the symbolbased on the time domain rate-matching indication to implementmultiplexing of the data with the other information in the symbol.

In one aspect, the aforementioned means for communicating with the UEutilizing a single carrier waveform, means for transmitting the timedomain rate-matching indication to the UE, and means for time domainrate-matching the data around other information contained in the symbolbased on the time domain rate-matching indication may be theprocessor(s) 1404 shown in FIG. 14. For example, the aforementionedmeans for communicating with the UE may include the communication andprocessing circuitry 1444 shown in FIG. 14. As another example, theaforementioned means for transmitting the time domain rate-matchingindication to the UE may include the rate-matching configuration andmanagement circuitry 1448 and the communication and processing circuitry1444 shown in FIG. 14. As yet another example, the aforementioned meansfor time domain rate-matching the data around other informationcontained in the symbol may include the rate-matching configuration andmanagement circuitry 1448 and the communication and processing circuitry1444 shown in FIG. 14. In another aspect, the aforementioned means maybe a circuit or any apparatus configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means.

Several aspects of a wireless communication network have been presentedwith reference to an exemplary implementation. As those skilled in theart will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout thisdisclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures and communication standards.

By way of example, various aspects may be implemented within othersystems defined by 3GPP, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), the EvolvedPacket System (EPS), the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System(UMTS), and/or the Global System for Mobile (GSM). Various aspects mayalso be extended to systems defined by the 3rd Generation PartnershipProject 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and/or Evolution-Data Optimized(EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented within systems employing IEEE802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB),Bluetooth, and/or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunicationstandard, network architecture, and/or communication standard employedwill depend on the specific application and the overall designconstraints imposed on the system.

Within the present disclosure, the word “exemplary” is used to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementationor aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of thedisclosure. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage ormode of operation. The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to thedirect or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if objectA physically touches object B, and object B touches object C, thenobjects A and C may still be considered coupled to one another—even ifthey do not directly physically touch each other. For instance, a firstobject may be coupled to a second object even though the first object isnever directly physically in contact with the second object. The terms“circuit” and “circuitry” are used broadly, and intended to include bothhardware implementations of electrical devices and conductors that, whenconnected and configured, enable the performance of the functionsdescribed in the present disclosure, without limitation as to the typeof electronic circuits, as well as software implementations ofinformation and instructions that, when executed by a processor, enablethe performance of the functions described in the present disclosure.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in FIGS. 1-22 may be rearranged and/or combined into asingle component, step, feature or function or embodied in severalcomponents, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps,and/or functions may also be added without departing from novel featuresdisclosed herein. The apparatus, devices, and/or components illustratedin FIGS. 1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 14, and 15 may be configured to perform one ormore of the methods, features, or steps described herein. The novelalgorithms described herein may also be efficiently implemented insoftware and/or embedded in hardware.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps inthe methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample orderand are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented unless specifically recited therein.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to“at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of thoseitems, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b,or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a,b, and c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements ofthe various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are knownor later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for wireless communication at a userequipment (UE) in a wireless communication network, the methodcomprising: communicating with a base station utilizing a single carrierwaveform transmitted on a carrier, wherein the carrier is time-dividedinto a plurality of single carrier symbols, each of the single carriersymbols comprising a plurality of samples in a time domain; receiving atime domain rate-matching indication from the base station indicatinguseable samples of the plurality of samples for data within of a symbolof the plurality of single carrier symbols; and time domainrate-matching the data around other information contained in the symbolbased on the time domain rate-matching indication to facilitatemultiplexing of the data with the other information in the symbol, thedata comprising a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH).
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thedata comprises the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and theother information comprises a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH).3. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprises the physicaldownlink shared channel (PDSCH) and the other information comprises ademodulation reference signal (DMRS).
 4. The method of claim 3, whereinthe DMRS comprises DMRS chunks, each comprising at least one DMRS sampleof the plurality of samples, wherein each of the DMRS chunks isseparated in time from one another by a respective portion of the PDSCH,and further comprising: receiving a DMRS pattern indicating a size ofeach of the DMRS chunks and a number of the DMRS chunks in the symbolvia a radio resource control (RRC) message or downlink controlinformation (DCI).
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprisesthe physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and the other informationcomprises a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH).
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the DMRScomprises a first DMRS associated with the PDCCH and a second DMRSassociated with the PDSCH.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the otherinformation further comprises at least one of a synchronization signalblock (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). 8.The method of claim 7, wherein the other information further comprisesat least one sample gap separating the at least one of the SSB or theCSI-RS from at least one of the PDCCH or the PDSCH.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the receiving the time domain rate-matching indicationfurther comprises: receiving the time domain rate-matching indicationvia a radio resource control (RRC) message or downlink controlinformation (DCI).
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprisesthe physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and the other informationcomprises at least one of a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) or asounding reference signal (SRS).
 11. A user equipment (UE) in a wirelesscommunication network, comprising: a wireless transceiver; a memory; anda processor communicatively coupled to the wireless transceiver and thememory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to:communicate with a base station utilizing a single carrier waveformtransmitted on a carrier via the wireless transceiver, wherein thecarrier is time-divided into a plurality of single carrier symbols, eachof the single carrier symbols comprising a plurality of samples in atime domain; receive a time domain rate-matching indication via thewireless transceiver from the base station, the time domainrate-matching indication indicating useable samples of the plurality ofsamples for data within of a symbol of the plurality of single carriersymbols; and time domain rate-match the data around other informationcontained in the symbol based on the time domain rate-matchingindication to facilitate multiplexing of the data with the otherinformation in the symbol, the data comprising a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). 12.The UE of claim 11, wherein the data comprises the physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH) and the other information comprises a physicaldownlink control channel (PDCCH) or a demodulation reference signal(DMRS).
 13. The UE of claim 12, wherein the DMRS comprises DMRS chunks,each comprising at least one DMRS sample of the plurality of samples,wherein each of the DMRS chunks is separated in time from one another bya respective portion of the PDSCH, and wherein the processor and thememory are further configured to: receive a DMRS pattern indicating asize of each of the DMRS chunks and a number of the DMRS chunks in thesymbol via a radio resource control (RRC) message or downlink controlinformation (DCI).
 14. The UE of claim 11, wherein the data comprisesthe physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and the other informationcomprises a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), a first DMRSassociated with the PDCCH, and a second DMRS associated with the PDSCH.15. The UE of claim 14, wherein the other information further comprisesat least one of a synchronization signal block (SSB) or a channel stateinformation reference signal (CSI-RS).
 16. The UE of claim 15, whereinthe other information further comprises at least one sample gapseparating the at least one of the SSB or the CSI-RS from at least oneof the PDCCH or the PDSCH.
 17. The UE of claim 11, wherein the processorand the memory are further configured to: receive the time domainrate-matching indication via a radio resource control (RRC) message ordownlink control information (DCI).
 18. The UE of claim 11, wherein thedata comprises the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and the otherinformation comprises at least one of a demodulation reference signal(DMRS) or a sounding reference signal (SRS).
 19. A method for wirelesscommunication at a base station in a wireless communication network, themethod comprising: communicating with a user equipment (UE) utilizing asingle carrier waveform transmitted on a carrier, wherein the carrier istime-divided into a plurality of single carrier symbols, each of thesingle carrier symbols comprising a plurality of samples in a timedomain; transmitting a time domain rate-matching indication to the UEindicating useable samples of the plurality of samples for data withinof a symbol of the plurality of single carrier symbols; and time domainrate-matching the data around other information contained in the symbolbased on the time domain rate-matching indication to facilitatemultiplexing of the data with the other information in the symbol, thedata comprising a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) or a physicaluplink shared channel (PUSCH).
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein thedata comprises the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and theother information comprises a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH)or a demodulation reference signal (DMRS).
 21. The method of claim 20,wherein the DMRS comprises DMRS chunks, each comprising at least oneDMRS sample of the plurality of samples, wherein each of the DMRS chunksis separated in time from one another by a respective portion of thePDSCH, and further comprising: transmitting a DMRS pattern indicating asize of each of the DMRS chunks and a number of the DMRS chunks in thesymbol via a radio resource control (RRC) message or downlink controlinformation (DCI).
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein the datacomprises the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and the otherinformation comprises a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), afirst DMRS associated with the PDCCH, and a second DMRS associated withthe PDSCH.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the other informationfurther comprises at least one of a synchronization signal block (SSB)or a channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS).
 24. The methodof claim 23, wherein the other information further comprises at leastone sample gap separating the at least one of the SSB or the CSI-RS fromat least one of the PDCCH or the PDSCH.
 25. The method of claim 19,wherein the transmitting the time domain rate-matching indicationfurther comprises: transmitting the time domain rate-matching indicationvia a radio resource control (RRC) message or downlink controlinformation (DCI).
 26. The method of claim 19, wherein the datacomprises the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and the otherinformation comprises at least one of a demodulation reference signal(DMRS) or a sounding reference signal (SRS).
 27. The method of claim 19,further comprising: determining a total number of samples correspondingto the plurality of samples within the symbol; and generating the timedomain rate-matching indication based on the total number of samples, afirst number of samples of the plurality of samples in the symbolallocated for the data and a second number of samples of the pluralityof samples in the symbol allocated for the other information.
 28. Themethod of claim 19, further comprising: performing pre-discrete Fouriertransform (DFT) multiplexing of time domain rate-matched data and theother information to generate the symbol.
 29. A base station in awireless communication network, comprising: a wireless transceiver; amemory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the wirelesstransceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory areconfigured to: communicate with a user equipment (UE) utilizing a singlecarrier waveform transmitted on a carrier via the wireless transceiver,wherein the carrier is time-divided into a plurality of single carriersymbols, each of the single carrier symbols comprising a plurality ofsamples in a time domain; transmit a time domain rate-matchingindication via the wireless transceiver to the UE, the time domainrate-matching indication indicating useable samples of the plurality ofsamples for data within of a symbol of the plurality of single carriersymbols; and time domain rate-match the data around other informationcontained in the symbol based on the time domain rate-matchingindication to facilitate multiplexing of the data with the otherinformation in the symbol, the data comprising a physical downlinkshared channel (PDSCH) or a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). 30.The base station of claim 29, wherein the processor and the memory arefurther configured to: determine a total number of samples correspondingto the plurality of samples within the symbol; and generate the timedomain rate-matching indication based on the total number of samples, afirst number of samples of the plurality of samples in the symbolallocated for the data and a second number of samples of the pluralityof samples in the symbol allocated for the other information.